


The Prince of Roses

by FriendlyCabbage



Category: Weak Hero (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:22:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26794321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyCabbage/pseuds/FriendlyCabbage
Summary: Had an idea for a weak hero fanfiction and wanted to give form to it. I was thinking of flowers and kingdoms. There will be magic. No self-inserts, there will be OC's for minor roles like random peasant 1 or random noble 1. Let's see where this goes.
Relationships: Donald Na/Gray Yeon
Comments: 29
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

Gray's POV

The stars... They are endless and eternal, some believe them to be our ancestors, others the watchful eyes of the gods, I believe them to be a representation of all of the possibilities in life. There are an uncountable amount of changes that can happen to someone, paths that someone can take in life, and things that one can do to benefit themself. Truly in this world of magic, the only impossibility, which in itself contradicts itself, is the idea of impossibility. There is magic to heal, magic to forge gold, and even magic to reverse aging. This is a world where one could live to see the end of time. 

The magic itself is all trapped in potions, thus the only way to make the magic work is to have the proper materials, actions, and promises. This has led to so many foolish people throwing as many things as possible into cauldrons in a desperate attempt to find some potion that will make their wishes come true. If they could read, I like to believe, they'de spend those wasted resources to buy books to actually find the potions they need. In order to heal, it requires the blood of a sworn enemy, aloe of the heavens, and one hour off of one's life. In order to make gold, you need the blood of a swan, fools gold, one's happiest memory, and the lives of everyone one loves. To reverse one's aging, the souls of ten people, a unicorn's horn (ground up), dragon's teeth (ground up), and bringing about the death of a valkyrie. Few people can and will actually commit themselves to the use of such dark arts. The price of one's greed will determine what one is willing to do and how far they will go. 

"Um... your majesty... what... what are you doing?" (Eugene)

[How long has he been out here for?] (Eugene)

"..." (Gray)

Lying in a bed of pink and red roses lit only by the light of the four blood moons in the sky and the red stars that surround them is Gray. He is wearing a grayish blue suit. 

"W-what about the thorns? Are you okay?" (Eugene)

"I'm fine." (Gray)

"Uh- are you... are you sure?" (Eugene)

"The thorns aren't sharp enough to cut through my clothes. I promise you that they haven't even reached my skin. I am fine." (Gray)

"I- uh- yes your majesty!" (Eugene) 

"..." (Gray)

[Sh-should I just wait for him?] (Eugene)

I am the prince of the kingdom Eunjang with Ben Park as its king. I was chosen for my intelligence and then stayed in power for my brutality. I can feel the daggers being stared into my back by all of the people who want this position. The thorns poking into my back right now are nothing like those stares. The stares are worse. I don't know when they will try to take my throne. I don't know if they'll attack as a group. I have no idea when they will try anything. It's a simple matter of trying to predict the thoughts of every single person who is plotting against me or wants me gone. There are too many variables to account for. If they ever give in to their desire to take me down; undoubtedly, they will attack me in a large group. 

"Sigh..." (Gray)

Eugene probably doesn't know it, but this field of roses is known for having snakes in it. 

"You can go. You don't have to wait for me to get up." (Gray)

"Uh... are you... are you sure?" (Eugene)

"Yes, leave." (Gray)

"Uh- yes your majesty!" (Eugene)

The red light on my skin... the roses beneath me... this royal ancient suit... right now, I am beautiful. 

Eugene is gone, right? 

Good. 

The roses are soft and painful. Pick a rose, prick yourself, and drop your blood into the eyes of a white snake. Cut a piece of your hair and throw it to the wind. Take a golden ring and toss it into a never-ending river. Return to the rose that started it all and swallow its petals. 

Do this and there will be a promise granted to you that someone understands. 

There is a potion for everything. Magic that can and will make anything happen. 

Thus there is someone out there who understands. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's POV

Gray's been out for a while. Does he not sleep? Is it because he is a snake kin? I guess all species are different in some way. Vampires just flat out can't go out in daylight, Valkyieries fly, and me and my fellow berserkers are freakishly strong. I'll just ask him about it. 

Oh?

"Eugene, where's Gray?" (Ben)

"Um... he said to leave him be. He's in the roses." (Eugene)

"Oh! So he's talking to his fellow snake kin?" (Ben)

That makes sense. Most animal kin people can converse with their true animals. They're his people. I bet they're super proud of him for becoming royalty. 

"Uh... what?" (Eugene)

"The rose fields. They're full of snakes." (Ben)

"What?!?" (Eugene)

[Oh my god! What would have happened if I stepped on a snake? With my luck it'd probably be a venomous snake.] (Eugene) 

"Oh gosh, you didn't know?" (Ben)

"Oh- no! No, I didn't." (Eugene)

"Haha. Whoops. Yeah, that place is just full of them." (Ben)

[Oh my god. Why didn't he tell me? Was it because he knew I'd freak out?] (Eugene)

"I'm surprised you didn't see any." (Ben)

"I'm glad I didn't see any..." (Eugene)

"Hahaha!" (Ben)

"Well, nice talking to you. I'm going to go check on Gray." (Ben)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

The souls of ten people, a unicorn's horn (ground up), dragon's teeth (ground up), and bringing about the death of a valkyrie. This allows for the reverse of aging. Follow this with poison, tears of agony, and one's own blood, and the aging process will return the user to their original age. Overall, it makes for the perfect disguise. 

I can just walk right into all of the kingdoms in the land of Yeongdeungpo and be completely ignored. I don't like the idea of being weak again, but sometimes sacrifices must be made, and plus I already know that nobody will be able to beat me even when I'm like that. Lately, the kingdom of Eunjang has been causing problems. The king that rose to power there is an enemy of mine and they keep getting caught into wars with all of the kingdoms that I own. I do believe that if they keep pissing everyone off they'll end up getting attacked by everyone and disappear. The reason I want to look into this personally is because somehow, despite all of the wars they keep getting into, they are somehow still above water. I want to know why they haven't drowned yet. 

Thus I have to drink this disgusting potion and lose everything that I built up over the years. This is going to be painful so I might as well save the tears from now for later. 

"Kingsley, give me the potion." (Donald)

"Yes, my lord." (Kingsley)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pain. So much pain. 

I can feel my bones shrinking. My muscles are pulling themselves into shrunken versions of themselves. The pain that came from each tattoo that I have gotten over the years ripping as if they were new and then just ceasing to exist. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" (Donald)

"My lord!" (Kingsley)

So many sensations that I hate. It feels like I'm dying. 

I can't breathe... it's too much. 

I'm losing so much muscle and bone mass in such a short amount of time. 

I severely underestimated how much pain this would cause. I already knew that this would be enough to make me cry, but goddamn it. 

"Nghhhh..." (Donald) 

The tears are just falling... 

Will I have to go through this again to return to normal? 

Fuck. 

I'm not sure if I'm willing to do that. 

I might just build myself up again while ruling from the shadows. 

No, that's a terrible idea.

I will have to go through this again.

They won't wait to figure out what did to myself. They'll probably attack me and learn it themselves way before then. I need to complete my work.

"Kingsley, collect my tears of agony and save them for the return potion." (Donald)

"... Yes, my lord." (Kingsley)

[He seems okay, but... I've never heard him cry out in pain before. Is he really okay?] (Kingsley)

Fuck. I forgot how it feels to be this tiny. I hate it. 

"Stay here and wait for my return." (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's POV

... There he is.

Huh. He sparkles in the moonlight. 

"Gray?" (Ben)

"..." (Gray)

"You good?" (Ben)

"Mhm..." (Gray)

"Wait... Gray! You have a cut on your hand. You need to be more careful. You don't have protective scales like your friends. You can't just slither around in the roses." (Ben)

"I can't slither, and I know about the cut. Also, just because I'm snake kin does not mean all snakes are my friends." (Gray)

"But they can be. I bet if you tried talking to them they'd love to be your friend." (Ben) 

"..." (Gray)

"Come on, we need to figure out what to do about that wound." (Ben)

"Let it heal itself." (Gray)

[All healing magics come with a cost. I don't want them to pay anything, even for a small cut like this. Especially since I caused it.] (Gray)

"Are you sure?" (Ben)

"Yes." (Gray)

"I am ready to go back now, though." (Gray)

"Alright then, let's go." (Ben)


	2. The Prince of Roses 2

Donald's POV

Each of the kingdoms are unique in their own way. My personal kingdom, Yeo-il, is almost completely shrouded in darkness. In return for this, on the very few occasions where the sun can be seen, the lands are scorched in a fire. It makes being a vampire so much easier when you only have to worry about the sun once every few years. When the sun does come back, I just take shelter in underground caverns that I have personally hidden and reserved for myself. 

Daehyun is an absolute war zone. There is a wide variety of species living there. Their king, Jake Ji, is a berserker. The land itself is barren and dead. There are plenty of old and destroyed weapons and armor to be found while approaching the kingdom itself. Despite this terrifying appearance and the common misconceptions about the people, the people themselves are actually very friendly. 

Ganghak is the land of the werewolves. The moons shine the brightest in their kingdom and the days are nice and cool. It's the perfect conditions for their fur. They won't overheat and the moons enhance their power to their current maximum potentials. It's a truly brutal place where the weakest links are fated to die early and every single action taken relies almost completely on instinct. Most other species avoid that place because of their poor behavior and extreme alpha and beta complexes. 

Hyeongshin has lost a great deal of power after I removed King Myles from his throne and tossed him out into the wilderness. Their new head is the ogre kin, Forrest. Their kingdom also has a wide variety of species. It's unfortunate that they have no idea how to use their powers in the most efficient ways. That stupid kingdom has no rhyme or reason. The conditions there are very average. 

Yousun is full of monsters: minotaurs, dwarfs, centaurs, etc. It's a very weird and narcissistic place. The kingdom itself commonly gets floods and hail storms. I imagine that it just fucking sucks to live there, especially since they are viewed as the weakest kingdom in the lands of Yeongdeungpo. 

And then there is Eunjang. Hidden by mountains, encased in trees, flower valleys that are rumored to be full of serpents. Eunjang is just hidden in the center of it all. There isn't any odd day or night cycles that I know of. The kingdom itself is normal. It's full of monsters and creatures of various types. 

I already drank a potion years ago that made me immune to sunlight so I will be fine in the light. I still need to drink blood so I'm just going to have to keep finding victims while remaining under the radar. It shouldn't be too difficult. The only thing that will be difficult is getting into the castle. Vampires are considered a menace because we are prone to attacking all other creatures due to intense and uncontrollable bloodlust. I'm not sure King Ben will want me anywhere near his kingdom if it carries the risk of me attacking those that he loves. I'm not sure how much blood I will need to satiate this body, but I will find out in due time. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

The mountains were tiring, the trees were confusing, and these flowers are dangerous. I've already seen a few serpents swimming in the flowers. I can't tell where they all are. The thorns are shredding my clothes so much that it might be better to pretend to be a beggar once again when I get there instead of a traveler. I despise the idea of it, but it honestly seems far more believable at this point. As for the serpents, I can tell that they are getting ready to strike. I'm already starting to see why all of the kingdoms that try to attack this small area just end up getting destroyed. Exhaustion, confusion, and just flat out dying before even getting to the objective. The journey itself is far worse than the fight. The serpents look like they have been getting fat from all of the fallen soldiers they have swallowed. Stupid creatures. They're only the babies. If I'm lucky their mother will not show. 

How many are there... only five. This body is weak, but I should be able to fight them with this. I'll aim for the eyes and blind them permanently. After that, I can drink their blood. This should keep me from having to attack the Eunjang citizens for some time. Really, they're making things so much easier for me right now. I can feel myself smiling too much again. 

"Hahaha~" (Donald)

This is going to be fun~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

I can feel it. 

There's something wrong with my kindred serpent cousins on the outskirts of the kingdom. Either we're under attack again or they picked a fight with something stronger than them. The serpents tend to be greedy when it comes to picking their prey, so I wouldn't be surprised with either. I should head out and investigate the situation. 

"Um... your majesty... where are you going?" (Eugene)

"I need to go check on my cousin serpents on the borders of our kingdom." (Gray)

"S-s-serpents???" (Eugene)

"Don't worry. They will not attack me. They're too scared." (Gray)

"Uh... y-you're s-s-sure?" (Eugene)

"Absolutely, you can come as well if you want confirmation." (Gray)

"I-I uh... o... okay." (Eugene)

[This is a bad idea.] (Eugene)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray's POV

We've only just left the castle, but I can already feel it. My serpent cousins are already dead. It was too quick to be an army. Many people at a time fighting many serpents leads to confusion. That and a large group would have summoned the presence of their mother. They must have picked a fight with a powerful monster then. I still need to make sure that whatever it is they were fighting does not come into the kingdom. 

"Eugene." (Gray)

"Ah, yes your majesty?" (Eugene)

"Go tell King Ben that I am going outside of the kingdom. Something just killed all of the newborn serpents. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best." (Gray)

"Huh? Y-yes your majesty! Right away!" (Eugene)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

They just keep coming... I've been bitten a few times now, but it shouldn't be enough to stop me. These particular serpents lack venom and only come off as a menace. I can see civilization in the distance. I plan to pretend to be a demon because they are rare enough to where there will likely be no one able to call me out on my lie. This will also serve to explain my ridiculous strength despite my small body. 

Look at those walls. Were they going for decoration over defense? The walls that surround a kingdom are supposed to be safe and secure, but these just have thick vines all over the place. I guess they don't really care, do they? I'll make sure to note every place on those walls that have enough vines to easily climb to the top. It'll make destroying this place so much easier. 

"Who goes there?" (Gaurd 1) 

"Just a wanderer." (Donald)

"Where are your friends? Surely you are not alone." (Guard 1)

"I am alone, sir. Please let me in." (Donald)

[A lone wanderer? How did he get here? Maybe he means that he came from the other side of the kingdom...] (Guard 1)

"Open the gates!" (Guard 1)

Perfect.

[Should I really have had the gates opened for that kid? ...] (Guard 1)

This place is a wreck. So many cracks in the buildings, citizens in rags, and... Who's that? They look important. Actually, they're approaching. Their clothes are far too extravagant for this place. Those clothes are royal... 

"..." (Gray)

He just walked right up to me. He's about my height as well. That is Eunjang's royal crest on his clothes. He doesn't look strong enough to be one of the royals so perhaps he is one of their servants. It is widely known that King Ben personally took his own royal crest and put it on one of his knights so it's really not a stretch. 

Why is he coming even closer?

Fuck, if he does anything I'm going to have to take it. I need to stay undercover for now. 

[I can smell it...] (Gray)

What the heck is he doing?!? Is he hugging me? What the fuck. 

[Oh my god, what is the prince doing?!? Is he hugging him? Do they know each other? Fuck, good thing I let him in. The prince went right for him. He probably only came out here to get him.] (Guard 1) 

[It's the blood of my serpent cousins... The smell is so strong... Murderer.] (Gray)

"Were you in the flower fields recently?" (Gray)

His expression... it looks like he already knows the answer. He seems very pissed off. Are the flower fields a restricted area? No, they're outside of the castle walls. It wouldn't make sense to get angry about flowers that aren't even inside the castle walls... Wait... his eyes. He has the eyes of a python. Shit. Snake kin. He smells the blood. 

[Relax Gray, they probably attacked him first. The reason you feel so angry is that it was your serpent cousins that died. If it were anything else you wouldn't feel as angry.] (Gray)

Animal kin people are very defensive of their kindred species and species that are related to their kindred species. I'll probably have to avoid him if he holds a grudge and has enough influence to have me killed or removed. 

"No, nevermind. Who cares, they probably attacked you first anyways." (Gray)

[He's clearly from a sentient species that can control themself. There's no reason for me to remove him from the kingdom.] (Gray)

"Yes, they did attack me first. It was self-defense." (Donald)

Good, this one has reasoning. I don't have to aimlessly try to reason with someone who doesn't want to listen. This won't be as hard as I originally thought. He doesn't seem like he's going to hold some stupid grudge.

Wait... 

Where is he going? He's just leaving? I guess what he was trying to save is already dead so it doesn't serve a purpose for him to stay out here. 

I might as well follow him. It's far easier to find the castle when you have a guide.


	3. The Prince of Roses 3

Gray's POV

That kid has been following me for a while now. Hm... 

[Every now and then he stops and looks back at me to see if I'm still following. I'm not sure if he wants me to stop or not because he doesn't seem to be expressing fear, rage, or even simply trying to walk faster. He's just staying at a constant pace with a completely blank face. It's weird.] (Donald) 

It's kind of confusing that he's still following. If he thinks that he can follow me forever, he can't. The guards at the castle are very insistent on not letting anyone in. Especially if they appear to be commoners or peasants. If they do not think you are important they will not dedicate any time at all into figuring out what you want. They will immediately assume that you do not have any reason to be in the castle and have no right to be in the castle. Thus there is no way that he will get inside. 

Is he following me because of how I went about interrogating him? It is very unlikely that he knows that I'm snake kin so my behavior must have come off as... well... weird. I know that I was getting closer to have the fullest confirmation that the blood of my serpent cousins was truly coming from him, but he does not. My behavior could have come off as some form of attraction instead of what it truly was. I should clear it up, but first...

"..." (Gray)

[He just stopped. Is he waiting for me? He is staring...] (Donald)

He's coming closer now... 

"Explain your reasons for following me." (Gray)

"I thought you were guiding me." (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

"You were following me from a long distance." (Gray)

[Shit... I have to commit to this fake character.] (Donald)

"I was worried I'd bring shame to you if I stood next to you." (Donald)

[I feel... sick... saying this particular type of bullshit. It's so... self-degrading.] (Donald)

So it had nothing to do with my behavior. Then I won't bring it up. 

"If you want a guide and you're too scared to walk with me, ask someone else to guide you around." (Gray)

[Shit, he's going to leave.] (Donald)

"Um... so it's okay if I walk with you?" (Donald)

[I'll try seeming a bit uncertain to make him drop his defenses.] (Donald)

"... I am not guiding you around the kingdom. I have things to do. I'm sorry, but you need to find someone else." (Gray)

[Okay, he's not letting me near him. His excuse does make sense, but I'm pretty sure he also knows that nobody is just going to randomly agree to guide me around.] (Donald)

[I'll just have to wander this place on my own.] (Donald)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gray's POV

"Gray, you're back. You're not hurt are you?" (Ben)

"No, I'm fine." (Gray)

"What was it that killed the serpents?" (Ben)

"A kid. He said he killed them in self-defense..." (Gray)

"A kid? A kid killed all of the newborn serpents?" (Ben)

"Yes, he was alone too. You may drop the kingdom's defenses again. There are no threats approaching our kingdom." (Gray)

"One kid alone was killing serpents... He must be very talented." (Ben)

"Agreed. We'll probably see him again if he tries to start climbing the steps towards power." (Gray)

"Probably. Well, I should probably go send the order to lower the defenses. We can't afford to spend the resources to keep the defenses at maximum. We're already short on men and resources as is." (Ben)

"Mhm." (Gray)

Lately, we have been being getting randomly attacked by other kingdoms. King Ben says that it's likely because of the influence of the kingdom of Yeo-il. Apparently, the other kingdom's fear them and will follow their orders. I guess it makes sense seeing as how the mass majority of the creatures in Yeo-il are vampires. Those people are well known for their strength and bloodlust. They typically can and will drink the blood of any creature that gets in their way regardless of how powerful the opposing monster is. I remember that they were listed in the most dangerous sentient creatures list in "The Unbiased Book of Monsters." That book was very biased despite its claims in the title, but still very useful in its descriptions of how to identify them. That kid back there, he would have perfectly fit the description of a vampire had he been burning in the sunlight. He even had the stench of blood hanging on him. He's likely animal kin of some kind, but I'm not sure what. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gray's POV

The stars are out again... 

Despite the common misconception, this place is prone to long nights and short days. It's beautiful. The moons are all at halves. There are colors blending in the sky... I believe that it was in "Hunting Souls" that I read that those lights are lost souls blending together. The color comes from the energy emitted when the souls merge. You can sometimes hear them speaking to each other when they start to pull apart again. 

"..." (Gray)

Bathing in the moonlight with all of these lost souls is... special. 

"Take my robes." (Gray)

"Yes, your majesty." (Eugene)

Taking a step into the mirrored sky, it feels as if I'm bathing in blood. The water is so cold. I can feel myself shivering so much. Being a cold-blooded reptile really has its downsides. 

"Ha..." (Gray)

I can see a thin layer of frost forming on the grass. This will have to be fast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

It's so cold... 

There's frost on the ground. I did not come prepared for this. I knew it was getting drastically colder when I was getting close to this place, but why did it get so cold so quickly? Losing all of that muscle mass really dropped my natural body temperature as well. 

I managed to find the castle on my own earlier, but fuck. I wish I spent more time hunting a place to hide out instead. I might just have to go find somewhere to break into. I'm going to have to find a way not to freeze in this shitty temperature. 

I hate this... it really is like that time...

The sooner I get this over with, the better. 

I'll have to find some broken building, maybe if I'm lucky there will be a hole that I can force myself through. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

An open pub... I bet they're so drunk that they won't even remember me if I stay the whole night. 

It's warm... good.

Right to the server... 

Wait... fuck.

I need to save my money for food. 

[That kid... isn't that the kid that the prince hugged? Did he get lost? I've never even heard of the prince showing that kind of affection to anyone before. Maybe they're family? Old friends? Or perhaps... they are...] (Guard 1)

[That is a very absurd thought. Get that out of your head. The prince does not have time for that... but then again... He really has never done anything like that before... I should help him get back to the prince. If they really do have some kind of a relationship he'll appreciate this kid's return to him.] (Guard 1)

Someone is approaching. He smells of beer and has armor. It's a stupid drunk guard. 

"Kid, are you lost? I can help you get back to the prince." (Guard 1)

What?

"You... are the kid that the prince hugged right? I could have sworn that you were the kid that the prince greeted at the gate..." (Guard 1)

[What? Was I wrong?] (Guard 1)

The snake kin boy. He was the prince? 

Pft... this guard thinks that I know the prince personally. Fuck. Here we go. This is my way into the castle. If I can play my cards right then I might just be able to convince them to let me stay inside of the castle instead of having to stay inside of this pub. 

"No, you're right. I'm lost and I need to get back to him." (Donald)

"Follow me, I can get you back to him." (Guard 1)

Perfect. If I can get inside the castle walls then I can just disguise myself as one of the servants and then steal all of their battle plans. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

"You need to let him in." (Guard 1)

"He's a peasant." (Guard 2)

"Fuck you." (Donald)

"Don't say that he's..." (Guard 1)

"I don't care. Don't call me a peasant." (Donald)

I did not become a king to be called "peasant" again. 

[Shit, this kid is seriously ready to try and fight the castle guards. He needs to calm down.] (Guard 1)

"Oh, so much attitude. Do you really think you can give us backtalk? Put yourself in check little bitch." (Guard 2)

"Wow! Dude. Not cool." (Rowan)

[One of the prince's servants?] (Guard 1)

[It's the prince's loud-mouthed servant. What is he doing here?] (Guard 2)

"Are you trying to convince everyone outside the castle walls that we're all pieces of shit? You need to keep your own attitude in check." (Rowan)

"Says the towel carrying servant. I bet you scrub poop buckets for a living." (Guard 2)

"Um... w-what are you all doing? Please, no fighting." (Eugene)

"Eugene, what are you doing here? Weren't you serving the prince?" (Rowan)

"Um... he's done bathing... he needs a fresh towel." (Eugene)

[Wait, that kid...] (Eugene)

"Wait... a-aren't you the kid that the prince was hugging?" (Eugene)

[I was trying to report to Gray that I told Ben to ready the defenses, but they looked so close and I didn't want to interrupt so I just went home...] (Eugene)

A witness?

"Yes." (Donald)

[The fuck? The prince hugged this peasant? Why? He never shows any emotion at all.] (Guard 2)

[The prince hugged this kid? Is he a friend?] (Rowan)

"Well, if he knows the prince then you've got to let him in." (Rowan)

Perfect.

"Come on, we were just about to go see him." (Eugene)

Wait, no.


	4. The Prince of Roses 4

Gray's POV

"..." (Gray)

Okay... this is my fault. It seems that I actually should have cleared things up after all. How did he even get here?

[If I have to, then I will drown the prince and kill all the witnesses. Better yet, make it look like the witnesses are the guilty party.] (Donald)

He looks so happy...

Stephen always encouraged helping others...

Okay... I'll let him stay.

"If you want to stay here, you have to work." (Gray)

[He's going to let me stay? Why? He has no reason to. Let's just go with it.] (Donald)

"Of course." (Donald)

He's probably going to stay near me seeing as how I'm the only person here aside from those two that he has actually met before. I don't think he has a place to stay since he's completely muddy and wearing torn up clothes. I'm going to have to find him a room.

"Eugene, go find him a uniform that fits. There's no way that I'm letting him walk around the castle in mud and rags. Speaking of which, please wash that mud off.." (Gray)

So he's going to turn me into one of his servants.

[Perfect, I don't have to kill and replace one of the other servants after all. I can start with my mission far faster than I thought. I can use the prince as an alibi for if they start getting suspicious of me. He doesn't look like he cares enough to say anything about how we have no idea who each other are.] (Donald)

[Hm... the deep blue uniform and its sash are definitely not my usual style, but it's fine. This is more than enough.] (Donald)

"..." (Gray)

This kid looks like a beggar, but he seems to be well-fed. He hasn't been on the streets for too long. Still though...

"Have you eaten?" (Gray)

"Yes." (Donald)

[I ate your serpent friends.] (Donald)

So he has eaten? 

"Are you thirsty?" (Gray)

"Ah- not right now. Maybe later." (Donald)

[I don't drink the same kind of stuff that you do.] (Donald)

A beggar from the streets that is well fed and not even thirsty. There is something off about this situation. He also has to be very powerful to be able to kill several serpents all on his own. Hm... 

[This is weird. Does this guy actually care?] (Donald)

He still hasn't washed the mud off of himself...

"Here." (Gray)

[A handkerchief?] (Donald)

"You're dirty. Take care of yourself." (Gray)

[And he leaves just like that.] (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

Light blue with tiny flower embroidery. What a cute little handkerchief. Does he normally carry these things around? This and the servant uniform actually look good together. This particular uniform means that I'm one of his personal servants. I guess he thinks I'm his responsibility now. How cute. 

He's probably going to ask me about my life and where I came from so I need to have a lie prepared. Let's see... I already plan to claim to be a demon, but I should probably avoid saying such a thing for now just in case there are actual demons here. As for why I traveled such a great distance to get here, how about my albinism was viewed as bad luck and I was refused sanctuary by all of the other kingdoms. This belief is held with full confidence in some places so it will sound believable. I could probably-

"Are you finished?" (Gray)

"Yes, is this how you wear it?" (Donald)

I'm supposed to be fresh off the streets so I should act unsure of how I'm wearing this. It shouldn't be too hard; after all, I really was fresh off the streets once... 

"Yes, that's perfect." (Gray)

"Thank you." (Donald)

"Hm... come with me." (Gray)

"Of course." (Donald)

What's he going to do now?

[It didn't take much effort to find him a room. All I had to do was search the registry for an unused room and then have the maids turn it into a living space. It might actually be too big for him. I don't think he has anything to put in there. Hm... If it really does turn out to be too big then I'll just have to move him again.] (Gray)

We've already gone up a few floors... where is he taking me? 

"This is yours." (Gray)

...

I should have known. He's giving me a living space. 

"Outsiders aren't welcome. You are going to be under surveillance for some time before you will be allowed to do anything. Once it is confirmed that you are safe enough to keep inside the castle walls then know that you will not be allowed to step foot outside of the kingdom unless ordered to." (Gray) 

So that's what this is about. Of course, they aren't just going to let some random person from the streets come inside of the castle and suddenly become a royal servant. He wants to keep an eye on me first. It's a way of checking if I'm dangerous in a way. Which I am. I'm just going to have to prove to him that I'm not. 

It shouldn't be too hard. I just need to avoid getting caught hunting. He's snake kin so he should be most active during the day. I can avoid him when I have to hunt. The way the people of this place are rumored to be, they'll probably start looking for a culprit when people and livestock start disappearing. I should prioritize using him as an alibi if possible. They'll trust a prince far more than they will a servant. 

"And also, I need to clarify something. I didn't hug you for no reason. The reason I got so close was because I could smell the serpent blood on you. I don't know how you killed those serpents, but I do know that you did it alone and arrived at this kingdom with virtually no damage. Normally I'd leave it to the servants to keep an eye on you, but I feel that I should do this personally seeing as how that is no easy feat." (Gray)

He's keeping an eye on me personally? Good. That means that there will be more opportunities for me to use him as an alibi and if possible make him an ally. If I do manage to make him an ally then I could have King Ben replaced with him. Wait, what even is his name?

"Ah, I forgot to ask. What's your name?" (Donald)

"... My name is Gray Yeon, but the people refer to me as 'White Mamba.' Since we're exchanging names, what is yours?" (Gray)

[He is fresh off of the streets so I guess he doesn't care that he's going to be watched as long as he has a home. I guess it makes sense...] (Gray)

"My name is Dona-" (Donald)

Fuck. I can't tell him my actual name.

"Dona? Hm..." (Gray)

[So he has a very feminine name as well.] (Gray)

"Yes, Dona. It's weird, I know. Hahaha..." (Donald)

Ha... it's fine. Dona is a legitimate name and it looks like he believes me so I'll just have to go with it for now. It's not the fake name that I would've picked had I thought about it, but it's good enough. 

He's not going to leave? He did say that he was going to be keeping an eye on me. Alright then, I don't need to hunt any time soon so it shouldn't be a bother just yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

"The Gray Yeon? Are you sure we're talking about the same person?" (Teddy)

"Yeah, he let the kid right in and automatically turned him into a royal servant." (Rowan)

Gray Yeon letting some random beggar off of the streets right into the castle for no reason? Am I missing something here? What the fuck. 

"Eugene says that he saw them both hugging. They probably know each other or something." (Rowan)

The prince hugged a grubby street noodle? I guess it'd make sense if they know each other and just reunited or something, but... Whatever, It doesn't matter. 

"I wonder how they know each other. If they hugged then they've got to be close, right?" (Rowan)

"Probably." (Teddy)

"Man, he won't even let me hug him." (Rowan)

"You've never even asked him for one." (Teddy)

"Well... I mean that is true, but still." (Rowan)

"Ha..." (Teddy)

This idiot. He's a good friend, but my goodness he is an idiot. 

"Don't you have some chores to be doing or something?" (Teddy) 

"Uh, yeah, I do, but I don't want to do them right now. Don't tell the prince." (Rowan) 

"I'm not helping you avoid chores. If you get caught avoiding work by Gray, good luck." (Teddy)

"Hahaha... yeah. I should probably do the chores, shouldn't I?" (Rowan)

"Yes, yes you should." (Teddy)

"Haha, bye dude." (Rowan)

"Bye." (Teddy)

There is no such thing as having a powerful family name here, the only name that matters is your own. You have to climb the ranks with your strength alone and reach a level where no man can beat you. In this world, a person's social status is determined by how much blood they are capable of spilling. 

Some bow down permanently and pledge their loyalty to their respective royalty. I personally am pledged to be noble under the prince. I earned this role from my previous combat experience and by protecting the prince and earning his forgiveness after a previous conflict I had with him. Thus I am forced to admit that yes, it does annoy me that some random peasant was just handed the role of a royal servant just by showing up at the kingdom. It's not fair. I fucking hate it. I had to fight tooth and nail just to obtain the social status of a noble, so should he.

Normally the prince is so fair, why the sudden change? Why is he favoring that peasant? What is their relationship? Maybe they're just friends...


	5. The Prince of Roses 5

Ben's POV

Gray took in the kid that killed all of the serpents. It's wonderful. I think he's finally trying to open up to more people. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to meet the kid myself yet. Gray's been keeping an eye on him and limiting the number of people that have access to him. He says that he doesn't want anyone to get close to him just in case he's dangerous or untrustworthy. I think the kid will be fine. This is probably the best the kid's life has ever been so I don't think he's just going to throw it away for nothing. 

In addition to our new (and not yet met) friend, Alex has been extra fussy lately. He won't say why either. I wonder if me promoting him to my royal personal guard put more of a workload on him... I need to talk to him. I don't want him to be stressed or frustrated. If just being a royal knight was better suited for him then I need to know. But I don't really think it's that... 

"Alex." (Ben)

"What?" (Alex)

"Are you adjusting to your new job okay?" (Ben)

"Ben, guarding you is the easiest job of all time. Nobody even tries to fight you. It's like trying to protect a plank of wood from a rock. Quite literally nothing is going to happen." (Alex)

I guess he's right. I am far stronger than everyone in the kingdom. Throughout my entire life, I have only met one man who was stronger. I hope to never see that horrific vampire ever again. 

At least I know that his frustrations are not caused by me. 

Heck, I should just ask.

"Alex, what's on your mind. You seem to be very bothered lately." (Ben)

"It's nothing. It's just something stupid really, and it doesn't matter." (Alex)

"Something isn't nothing, it's okay to tell me. I'm willing to listen no matter what it is." (Alex)

[There are weird rumors going around about Gray having a boyfriend... Those rumors are upsetting me.] (Alex)

"Well, then for once something really is nothing." (Alex)

"Alex..." (Ben)

"I'm fine." (Alex)

I don't care how stupid it is. If it's important to you than it's important to me. Whatever it is that's upsetting you, I'll fix it. After all, you are the most important thing to me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

The kid is far more persistent than I thought he would be. He will follow me around the castle in order to keep an eye on me and has arranged for designated servants and maids to follow me around in his place if he is not available. There are people watching my balcony for any and all movement. Thus I have to come up with good excuses beforehand for if they learn of me being absent at any time. 

How about the guards just accidentally missed me when I was passing by, let's use that as my first excuse. Maybe I could kill the guard another time and go hunting and have the excuse be that I saw the guard and he saw me and we parted ways for a brief moment and then I couldn't find him again. All prey crumbles into dust when it lacks its life force anyways so I will be completely safe to say that they all disappeared.

All excuses must be used only once to avoid suspicion. The fewer excuses I have to make, the better. 

I should start my first task of the day. The prince will probably be trying to help with them again. Today is a laundry day. I guess I will be trying to scrub clothes. 

"Your majesty." (Donald)

"Dona." (Gray)

"I'm ready for my chores." (Donald)

I'm going to have to find a way to lose him so I can find their battle plans and map out all of their kingdom's weaknesses. Actually, I probably don't need to lose him to look for weaknesses. I could probably have him give me a tour of the kingdom and find weak spots that way. He seems like he has enough time to do something like that seeing as how he has time to follow me literally everywhere. 

"This way." (Gray)

He seems to like leading me around. I guess he takes pride in it. 

"Huh? Oh- your majesty!" (Lily)

"Your majesty." (Julia)

The maids. That one seems really really happy to see the prince. Many of the people here do seem to look up to him so I guess it makes sense.

"Your majesty, w-what are you doing?" (Lily)

"Helping." (Gray)

"You're going to do the laundry with us? Isn't that supposed to be his job?" (Julia)

"Me just standing and watching you all do chores does not help anything. It's better for me to participate in the work as well." (Gray)

He just cuffed his sleeves, his arms are actually far skinnier than I thought they'd be. If his arms alone are this skinny, I can only imagine that the rest of him is almost skeletal. He probably doesn't have enough blood in him to make for a fulfilling meal. His hands are tiny and fragile looking. He is not made for chores at all. He's probably going to himself while trying to do this stuff. 

"Do you even know how to do this? I don't believe I've ever even seen you down here before." (Julia)

"It's just soap and cloth." (Gray)

I've had to do this shit before. You've got to start somewhere if you want to become king. 

"Come here, you can sit next to me." (Donald)

[No! I missed my chance to get close to the prince. Gray...] (Lily)

Hm... I guess my arms are actually as bony as his are in this body. His skin seems to be almost as pale as mine with the exception being in his face. His cheeks and lips both have a very light pink tint to them. In addition to this, his lips seem to have a shimmer and his eyes are pink. It makes him look very feminine. Thinking about it now, if I had my normal body he'd be well over a foot smaller than me. He's a prince, but he'd make for one hell of a convincing princess. 

Hahaha, my oh my. What a dirty thought, a prince dressed up just like a pretty princess. 

[This is the most that I have seen him smile since he got here. He must enjoy doing little things like this. I will admit, they are peaceful.] (Gray)

"Do you enjoy doing this? I could arrange for you to have this task more often." (Gray)

"Ah- no. It was just a random stray thought that crossed my mind. I'd like more difficult tasks to prove myself." (Donald)

I should convince him to try and give me some more independence. If I can get some of the people that he currently has watching me be put somewhere else, it'll make my life so much easier. Taking on more difficult tasks will symbolize to him that I want to work for my position here and aim to make something out of my life here. It should also make him think that I am not going to try and do something that will get me removed from here. The more I can fool him, the better. 

"You want more difficult tasks? I'll look into it." (Gray)

Good, that's what I need you to do.

"Hm... is this good?" (Gray)

"It's perfect your majesty!" (Lily)

"You missed a spot." (Julia)

"..." (Gray)

Pft... he's looking at me now.

"It's good." (Donald)

"Okay, thanks." (Gray)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

Why is it dark already? Has it always been like this in Eunjang? I guess I didn't notice because I was trapped inside and didn't bother with going to the balcony after I noticed all of the guards. Or was it that time just flew by faster while we were doing these stupid trivial tasks? 

"You look perplexed." (Gray) 

"It got dark so fast." (Donald)

"Yeah, Eunjang typically has short days with long cold nights. We should start heading inside. I can't function correctly in cold temperatures." (Gray) 

Right, he's snake kin so he must be cold-blooded. If it gets too cold he could die. 

"Here." (Donald)

"That's supposed to be part of your uniform." (Gray)

"It'll be fine. The other servants and maids have no room to complain if it's you who's borrowing it." (Donald)

"Hm... okay..." (Gray)

[It's warm...] (Gray)

Fuck, it's cold.

I forgot that I don't have my normal body heat. Should I ask for it back? 

He looks so happy... Fine, he gets to keep it for now. I'll just ask for it back when we get inside. 

"Oh... that's right. You're not from Eunjang so you've probably never seen this before." (Gray)

"Eh?" (Donald)

"Come on." (Gray)

Shit. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

The entire world is covered in a blanket of red light from the moons, the trees glow a bright white in such light. When standing from the highest point in Eunjang, the colors blend. It all becomes blanketed in a pink fog. This is the only place where this phenomenon takes place. 

"Here..." (Gray) 

"What is that?" (Donald)

"They're the trees. They always shine like this on nights like this and cause a deep fog to overtake the sky when observed from above." (Gray)

"So the sky and the trees have their colors blend to make a pink fog?" (Donald)

"Yes, and during the day sometimes the trees will glow silver instead of their typical gold. It's very odd." (Gray)

[Despite this being the highest point, this cannot be used as a lookout position because of the fog. If the trees shine silver during the day, then it's probably blinding to look at. Oh you poor thing, you're helping me without realizing it.] (Donald)

"It's pretty, isn't it?" (Gray)

"Yes, yes it is." (Donald)

He's shaking... he must be cold. He does have the same type of body frame as me. I should have had us both go inside to get warmer clothes first.

"Let's go inside." (Gray)

"Okay." (Donald)

"Wh-" (Donald)

We need to be closer together to preserve body heat.

[This kid really likes hugging me.] (Donald)

"Come on." (Gray)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex's POV

They were kissing, I'm sure of it. 

I only took a short stroll away from Ben because I needed fresh air with all of the rumors about those two going around, but I didn't expect to see it get confirmed. 

They picked such a romantic setting as well. Swallowed by the pink fog with the red sky as a background. 

I feel sick.

This is not what I wanted to see today. 

Oh... there they are. They're not even hiding it. They're so close together with the uniform's coat wrapped around both of them. 

"Hm? Alex, you are supposed to be guarding Ben." (Gray)

"Yeah, nobody is going to try to attack him any time soon so I just went for fresh air. Sorry, I didn't mean to come off like I was avoiding my job." (Alex)

I need Ben right now, I can't deal with this. I'm not ready to see this.


	6. The Prince of Roses 6

Donald's POV

I need to go hunting soon. I've been trapped here for almost a solid week now and because the prince follows me everywhere I haven't been able to look for prey. I've noticed that the guards that have been assigned the task of watching my balcony have a tendency to slack off. I can see them taking drinks as well. I guess that they think that their task serves no purpose. That's fine, as long as they don't do their job I get to prosper. I can probably go after the livestock. They'll probably think that there is a thief on the loose or that their livestock now has a way of escaping due to a recent storm or something. 

I should change out of my royal uniform so I don't get any blood on it. I still have those disgusting rags to wear so I can blend in among normal people. 

Are the guards slacking off? 

Perfect, they are. 

I can just climb right out of my balcony and they won't even see me. I could probably use that thick pink fog that Gray showed me a few days ago to my advantage as well. I could jump both animals and people easily if I drop in from the fog. It's easy hunting. 

Okay, they aren't even here anymore. I bet they're going to the pub. Seeing as how the prince personally selects people for roles and has them prove themselves first I doubt that he was the one who selected those guards. Perhaps it was King Ben who selected them... 

I could turn into a bat right now and there would be nobody there to see it, but the magical energy output would definitely alert more than a few people of my presence. Random use of powerful magic is always viewed as suspicious so I shouldn't do it. I'll just have to find a way down. 

There... perfect. I can jump from here and land in the hay. I'll probably have a few scratches, but that should be fine as long as I can either cover them up or have a reasonable explanation for them. 

After hunting, I might be far enough to try turning into a bat and have no one pick up on it. I should try returning to check if the guards are still gone and see if I need to change my route back inside. Turning back to this form inside the castle is a terrible idea, the energy output will still be huge. There's also the possibility of King Ben recognizing my energy signal and having me killed for it. I'll have to be cautious.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

A griffin... perfect. Those things are annoying when they go after livestock, but are useful in battle. Thus in times of war and conflict, they are under protection. I get to eat and decrease Eunjang's military power all at the same time. It has an injury... It looks like someone has been trying to take care of it. I guess that person will just have to taste disappointment.

It sees me. It looks terrified of me. It must have strong instincts. 

It's backing away and is hanging low to the ground. It's very defensive right now. That's fine. This was never personal anyway. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

Dona has looked famished these past few days despite the fact that I have seen him eating. I think it's simply that he gets hungry quickly so I plan to bring him a healthy supply of snacks so he doesn't have to be hungry. It's just a simple fruit basket. He could probably put it anywhere he wants and it will be fine. He can come to ask me for more when he needs more. 

He's not answering the door... he must be sleeping. 

I'll just let myself in and set it down somewhere. It should be fine. 

He has really made this place his home. I can see plants from the outside, papers with various notes written on them, and even some of the floating water orbs from the pond. His uniform is folded neatly on a table. 

Are those his old clothes? He has them soaking in water. They smell weird. I guess that makes sense, they are from when he was on the streets. 

I'll have to do something about that smell.

Hm... where is he? 

His living space consists of three rooms so it shouldn't be too hard to find him. 

Look at him. He's just cuddled up in a ball in bed. He's not even underneath the covers. He looks cold. 

I'll just set it by his bedside table. It's in an obvious place so he shouldn't be able to miss it. 

I should move the blanket over him too while I'm still here. I don't want him getting sick. 

He should be more comfortable now. 

"... Good night..." (Gray)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

Fruit? 

Someone was in my room last night. 

Was it the prince? Maybe one of the maids or servants?

If the servants or maids did it, then it was under order by the prince. 

That means that no matter what, it technically was the prince. 

It's a nice gift, but fruit doesn't help me at all. I need blood. 

I'll have to thank him for the fruit basket.

I should probably still eat them so he thinks that I like his gift. It offers no sustenance at all to me, but that's okay, eating solid foods won't hurt me.

My old clothes... the vat that they're in now has roses and feathers in the water. 

It smells good. 

I think this actually a potion. 

Yeah, pick a flower of unspecified type, tears from the gods, feathers from a phoenix, and your clothes will have the scent of the flower chosen burned into the cloth permanently and the clothes will be liquid proof. 

He enchanted my rags. 

So the prince knows his potions. 

He's unintentionally helping me hunt again. I don't have to get rid of the smell of blood now. It won't even stain the clothes. 

I'll hang them up to dry for now. 

I should put on my uniform and head out. It's still early in the morning so it should just be some random guard that's waiting to follow me around outside right now. 

Knew it. 

He's just sleeping on the floor. 

Fuck it, I'm going to the prince's room. 

I'm pretty sure there's going to be a guard in front of his room so I'm coming in from the roof. Those guards are still slacking on their job. Nobody is watching the roof. I'll just run across the roof and drop onto his balcony.

The door is unlocked... 

His room is very well kept. I've been here before so I know that the bedroom is this way. 

His shiny silver hair is poking out from underneath the covers. So his hair sparkles in the light. He's spooning his pillow. It's cute. I want to get closer. He looks peaceful. His pajamas are a royal silver with a purple tint. The blanket is around his midsection. 

"Ha..." (Donald)

His hair is soft. His skin is too. He's a perfect little princessly prince. 

I should leave now. If he wakes up and I'm still here, it's going to be hard to explain without coming off as weird. 

Fuck. There are people all over the place outside. They'll definitely see me running across the roof. That means that I have to go through the door. 

"What the-" (Guard 3)

"Excuse me..." (Donald)

I'll just run back to my room. The guard that was by my room should still be fast asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

I can't believe it. 

One of my patients has gone missing. 

I already had an entire status report made for them and everything. 

{Name - Polly, species - griffin, injuries - bone punctured through the arm, etc...} 

There was blood where it was hiding at so I can only assume something horrible happened. It was only recently that the prince was speaking of something killing his serpent cousins on the outside of the kingdom. I need to report this to the prince, what if it was the same creature?

Maybe he'll be able to find both it and my griffin. 

[The prince had that boy in his room all night long... That's the only way that kid could have come from there.] (Guard 3)

"I need to speak to the prince." (Teddy)

[And he has another one coming to see him immediately after the other one leaves?] (Guard 3)

"Why do you need to speak to the prince?" (Guard 3)

"One of the griffins' that I was assigned the task of looking after has vanished. I think that he needs to know." (Teddy)

[Okay, that makes sense. Maybe this day will make some sense after all.] (Guard 3)

"You may pass." (Guard 3)

Please let there be enough time to save Polly. There wasn't a body, just blood. Maybe they're still alive... 

The prince is hugging his pillow. 

"Gray- er... your majesty." (Teddy)

He's in a very deep sleep.

"Your majesty-" (Teddy)

"Mmm... " (Gray)

"Your majesty." (Teddy)

"Teddy... what are you doing in here?" (Gray)

[Is it the morning already?] (Gray)

"I hate to wake you with bad news, but one of the griffins that I was looking after has disappeared." (Teddy)

"Shit... which one and what makes you sure?" (Gray)

"Polly, there was blood all over their hiding spot. I couldn't find them anywhere." (Teddy)

"Hm... something definitely happened. I'll go look for it." (Gray)

"I want to come with. That griffin is my responsibility. If something happened to it, then I am at fault." (Teddy)

"Alright, come with me then. Let's find Polly." (Gray)


	7. The Prince of Roses 7

Donald's POV

Who was that? Some blond went into the prince's room immediately after I left. He looked very distressed and was carrying some papers.

They looked like official documents.

I don't have time to be worrying about trivial things like some boy visiting the prince. He probably works for the prince and that's why he's here.

He wasn't in the servant uniform though... 

Whatever. 

If this continues to bother me, I'll just make a meal out of him. There's no need to worry about something that can be solved very simply.

The guard is still fast asleep like I thought he'd be.

I'll stay in my room until the prince comes to get me for my morning chores.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

"Dona..." (Gray)

Here he is with a knock on the door. How polite.

"Gray-" (Dona)

Eh, the blond boy is here too? 

"We have a different task as of this morning. One of the griffins that our medical crew were looking after has gone missing." (Gray)

The one that I killed?

"Oh no, that's terrible. I hope it's okay." (Donald)

"Very unlikely, Teddy here has reported that its home had blood all over the place." (Gray)

So that's why he went to go see the prince so early in the morning. He was completing his job. He looks genuinely upset though. 

"Our new task for today is to find both the griffin and whatever hurt or killed it." (Gray)

I guess that I'm going to have to be terrible at my job for once. Maybe I could get them to go in the complete opposite direction that I went in.

"Don't say killed, I don't want to think that Polly's dead." (Teddy)

Polly? They named it? 

Okay, ignoring the fact that they named it, they figured out that thing was missing very quickly. This might be a tad bit more difficult than I thought. 

"Are you ready to go?" (Gray)

"Yes." (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's POV

As of a few days ago, something has been attacking both our livestock and our people. That's the theory at least. We know it's not the kid that Gray took in seeing as how he has been having guards keep watch of him both day and night. 

The targets started with an injured griffin, unicorns, and then citizens. 

What makes this so difficult is that we can't find any bodies. If there are no bodies then you can't compare bite marks, scratches, or overall injuries to get a general idea as to what is doing the killing. 

Fuck, there could even be more than one monster doing the killing and we'd never even know it. 

We can't even tell if someone is just lost missing or dead missing. 

Gray says that there are a number of reasons why we can't find any bodies. It could be that the creature is swallowing its prey whole, the victims could be crumbling into dust, or it could even be something that swoops in from above and carries its prey far away. 

I haven't been letting Gogo out because of it. I don't want him to get hurt. I don't let Gray go outside either, but I'm pretty sure he has been breaking my rules and going outside anyways. 

Gogo seems very down lately. I think it's a combination of things at this point. Being trapped inside, the beast that has been wreaking havoc, and something else. 

I'm not sure what that something else is, but that has been there the longest at this point. He refuses to give even the slightest hint as to what it is as well. It bothers me. 

I'm not sure what to do... The patrol groups I send out to protect the citizens sometimes don't come back. I feel like I'm sending people to die. 

If this is what it means to be king, I hate being king.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily's POV

Lately, things have been really scary.

None of the castle inhabitants have started disappearing yet, but I'm scared that they will. 

Julia has started carrying a knife strapped to her leg. I would do the same, but I'm too scared that I'd cut myself instead. 

I wish I was on Dona's shift. He gets to spend time with Gray. 

Gray, not even you have time to relax... 

The last time I saw you, you were going over notes regarding the last known whereabouts of all of the possible victims. You looked so focused. Dona was helping you go over the notes as well. 

Gray... 

I wish that we weren't trapped in this castle. 

Maybe if we both didn't belong to this royal regime we could hide away and live a peaceful life...

Ha... I should get to see him today. Dona is supposed to help us with the laundry today and Gray seems to go everywhere that Dona goes. 

Those two are very good friends.

There they are now. 

"Your majesty!" (Lily)

"Your majesty." (Julia)

"Hi." (Gray)

"Hello." (Donald)

[I just got ignored.] (Donald)

Pink and red eyes, silver and gold hair, and both with pale skin. It's the precious silver prince with his golden servant. They look beautiful standing next to each other. I'd like to be the pearl princess right next to Gray...

They're both so pretty. 

"Right here." (Donald)

"Mhm." (Gray)

"The same thing as last time?" (Gray)

"The same thing as last time." (Donald)

And just like that, they get right to work. 

Gray...

[The way she's staring at him... I don't know why, but I want to kill her now.] (Donald)

Huh?

Dona is staring at me... 

Wait, no. He's glaring at me!

Why?

He's scaring me...

He finally looked away. 

That was scary.

Why was he glaring at me? 

What did I do?

Does he hate me now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

I've noticed it more and more.

The stares that Gray gets are always either full of hate, fear, love, admiration, or sometimes all four. 

He seems to be trying to get used to it.

I myself am already used to such stares. 

I'll have to help him adjust. 

Having someone experienced to look to will definitely help him.

"Gray." (Donald)

"Dona." (Gray)

"Could we go to the view again today?" (Donald)

"Of course." (Gray)

The mountain view of the pink fog, red sky, golden trees, and silver lakes has become our secret hideout. We go there almost every day. We talk about various things. Stars, potions, numbers, and other random things like that. It's interesting how much he knows.

Sometimes he brings things for us to eat and blankets for us to sit on. 

Nobody is brave enough to stay outside right now. It makes it so I have plenty of time to keep him alone with me. The guards still suck at their job and seem to actively avoid going to work now that the disappearances have skyrocketed.

That reminds me, my bloodlust is getting bigger. I've had to increase the number of times that I go hunting. I think that's probably a side effect of me using such a massive amount of magic to reverse my aging. The immense hunger that this body felt in the past is coming back. 

I've also decided to keep him when I return to my kingdom. He can be my servant since he has been so nice to me. I won't let any of the other vampires bite him since he would be my servant. If they try to bite him, the punishment will be death. Treason is unacceptable. 

"We can go now if you want." (Gray)

"Yes please." (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

"I think we should add this to the basket as well." (Gray)

So far we have collected fruit, blankets, pillows, books, and a few other things to take to the cliff. 

Simple little things like this make the experience all the more enjoyable. 

"Is there anything you want to bring?" (Gray)

[Wine.] (Donald)

"No, this is fine." (Donald)

"Then we should get ready to leave soon. The royal guards are waiting for us." (Gray)

"The royal guards?" (Donald)

"Yes, it is starting to become far too dangerous for us both to outside alone. I arranged for the guards to stay with us so you can be safe." (Gray)

"Um... how far off will they be from us?" (Donald)

"They'll probably be hiding in the bushes or somewhere nearby." (Gray)

"Can they just not come?" (Donald)

"That... no. I'd like it to be just us as well, but if we allow ourselves to be exempt from the rules that we ourselves put into place then there might as well be none. We have to stick to some form of order in this chaotic life or risk descending into complete madness." (Gray)

"You are not wrong, but I still don't like our special place being given to others. That was supposed to be our own private hideout." (Donald)

"If it bothers you that much, we can go somewhere else and return there when we find whatever it is that is responsible for all of the disappearances." (Gray) 

[That can't happen. I'm the one responsible for the mayhem.] (Donald)

He looks so upset...

Don't worry, I'll find us somewhere inside the castle where we can experience that peace again. It'd have to be private and have no one else that knows about it. Maybe we could even pull things into it. We'd have to figure out what we'd put in there when we find it. If there's enough space, maybe we could set up a living area, a sleeping area, and a space just for our games and books. It'd be nice.

Don't worry Dona, we'll have our happiness. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

I know that this is how the prince is showing that he cares and is making an active effort to protect me, but this is actively making my life more difficult. Gray is arranging for an entire guard troop to follow me around. 

The problem with these guards is that they actually know how to do their job. I can tell that it was definitely Gray who picked these people to follow me around. 

When I finally manage to lose these fuckers I'm going to have to start targeting all of the guards that I know to be good at their job and leave all of the ones that suck at it. That way I can just walk away from the guards and they won't even notice. 

My dear prince, you have helped me so much so far, but this time you have hindered me. I will have to deal with this problem and finish what I have started. I have already finished mapping out the kingdom, all I need to do now is find their battle plans. I haven't seen any sign of them in King Ben's room. (I had to sneak in while he was gone.) They're probably in your room, aren't they Gray? I need to get into your room again, don't I? 

Hahaha~ 

Okay, I'll have to talk to you again as soon as possible.


	8. The Prince of Roses 8

Gray's POV

I found something for us...

In the basement, it seems that there was a place reserved for clockwork, but due to lack of use became forgotten. It still has many of the old clocks there and even some old toys that they put on music boxes. It's a cute little space with enough things to keep us both busy. I still feel compelled to move things into there, but now that I think about it, there is no way that we won't be noticed moving furniture somewhere. We'll just have to keep it simple with things like books and snacks. 

What could we get away with?

...

We could probably set up some blankets and pillows underneath the table. It'd make it more comfortable. The books would be fine to be stacked next to the wall. Dona could put all of his papers on the table after all of the old clocks and music boxes are cleared off. We could keep the fruits and snacks inside of the basket that they came in, there is no need to move them anywhere else. 

I'd like to look at the clocks and music boxes a bit more so I'll have to have a box made for them to be put in. 

It'll be our perfect little safe haven. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

We... never found Polly...

Or Sheryll, or Madison, or Paul, or anyone... 

It's the most horrible feeling. It feels like we're always close to the answer, and yet we can never find it. 

I've searched everywhere with Gray and Dona and yet we still couldn't find even a single path that they could have taken, any tracks left behind, no feathers from the griffins, the only sign that anything happened was the disgusting amount of blood all over the plant life. That's always is the only sign that anything happened. 

It's tearing me apart. I feel as if I'm failing all of the creatures that I dedicated my life to. 

Not even Gray can find an accurate reading as to what the hell is doing this. He says that according to his books, given the evidence that we have and the fact that we never have any eyewitnesses, there are thousands of different species that it could be. 

Ha... 

On days like this, I can't help wonder what the hell went wrong with my life. Fuck, what did I do to deserve this in the first place? What made it so all of the creatures deserved this? Was it really simply nothing? Are we paying for some godforsaken crime that we didn't commit? Is it some random asshole's vengeance? Why the hell is this all happening?!?

Aha... 

Ha..... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

I didn't even have to ask. He just randomly took me to his room today. I can see that he prepared a basket so he's probably going to take us both somewhere else immediately after this. 

I don't see anywhere where that someone like him would hide battle plans at. Honestly, he might just be keeping the plans in his head. He does seem smart enough to be able to do something like that without consequence. 

I should find a way to ask him about it as casually as possible. If it does turn out that he does keep the battle plans all in his head, then that will make my life a whole lot easier. I can just take him with me and then they'll all be left without any reasonable choices of action. They'll be lost on their own battlefield. The very thought of it is making me so excited~

The idea of watching them fall apart and be forced to bow down to me... It has been way too long. 

I can feel my hunger building. Thoughts like this always make my bloodlust spike. I'll have to go hunting soon after I confirm if he has the battle plans in his head or on a physical document. If I don't, I'll probably end up randomly attacking someone or something. Self-control is a very difficult thing to maintain when using a body that spent many years trapped in a constant state of hunger. 

"I have something to show you. Come." (Gray)

"Oh, I wanted to stay here with you for a little bit..." (Donald)

Play it shy, make him drop his guard. 

"Why?" (Gray)

He didn't even hesitate to respond. He doesn't look phased either. He still has that blank face on him. 

"It's just, well, nice." (Donald)

I still need to check the room. 

"..." (Gray)

"We can... stay here for a while, but I need to show something later." (Gray)

"Okay." (Donald)

Wandering around his room, I don't see anywhere that I think he'd put the papers at. I'll have to look for them while he's not here. Or I could come in while he's asleep. I should look for a key. There's no way that he still leaves his window unlocked now that my huntings have become far more frequent. 

Gray has everything very neat and tidy. He seems to like keeping things like this. He seems to have a few handmade toys as decoration. It's cute. 

I can see a few drawers that I could search in. There are some flowers in a vase. It has a few papers next to it. I'll look at those when I break in late at night. I can also see some keys next to it. I can't guarantee that they're for the window, but it would help if they were. 

"Do you want the key to my room? Is that why you are staring at those?" (Gray)

Oh shit. I didn't even see him approach. 

"Um." (Donald)

"Hm... you can have them if you want them." (Gray)

What. 

"I can have them copied right away. It won't take much effort at all." (Gray)

"Yes please, I'd like that." (Donald)

He's just giving me access to his room whenever I want it. This isn't just something that people do lightly. Does he want me to come to his room late at night? I mean, it's a stretch to think he'd want something like that but... I want that. I want him to want that. 

"Alright, I'll have them copied. I can have someone start on it right now while I show you what I found." (Gray)

"Of course." (Donald)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

This is... cute. 

Gray found a small room in the basement.

It's an old clock worker's room. 

Gray put all kinds of cute things in here. 

He set up a small spot to lie down underneath the table. There are writing materials on the table. There are also old clocks and music boxes in a box in the corner of the room. Some books are stacked next to the wall. 

He's carrying another food basket.

"I found us another hideout..." (Gray)

"I like it." (Donald)

I could work on papers while he holds onto my leg underneath the table. I can picture it now... 

Ha... 

I probably wouldn't just be having him hold onto me...

"Do you want something to eat?" (Gray) 

"No thanks." (Donald)

I don't want to waste his food. I don't need to eat at all. 

"Hm..." (Gray)

"Did you eat before?" (Gray)

"No." (Donald)

"Hm..." (Gray)

"Have this croissant for later then." (Gray) 

Refusing this will seem odd.

"Sure." (Donald)

He's wrapping it in a cloth.

"Here." (Gray)

"Thanks." (Donald)

Looks like I got stuck with the food anyway. 

He's going under the table with a book. 

Haaahahaha... 

My fantasy is going to come true, isn't it? 

"There's room for one more." (Gray)

Okay, nevermind. It isn't. 

"Come read with me." (Gray)

"Of course." (Donald)

So I get to snuggle with him under the table then. Alright, I like the idea of this. I'll get close to you. 

The blanket is warm and so is he. What's he reading? Potion books. "Take a message and flint and iron to burn the message. Burn the message. Swallow the ashes and say the words that were written and the person that you miss will hear your words from your lips." So he's reading about ways to speak to other people. 

Does he want to speak to someone? Who? Why?

Is there someone that I need to get rid of? 

He looks sad... This is probably someone that I can't get rid of without heavy consequence or is already long gone. 

He needs to be comforted. I'll pull him closer.

"Ha-" (Gray)

It seems I caught him by surprise. 

"D-Dona." (Gray)

"Gray." (Donald)

His face is red. He looks so adorable. He didn't expect that at all! 

Ha! All I did was pull him closer. 

"Go on, read for me." (Donald)

My darling prince, you seem way too flustered by my words. Have I found a weak spot? 

"..." (Gray)

He looks a bit confused about how to feel now. Sad for whatever his reasons are or flustered because of me. 

How about I make it easier for you, how about you remain flustered because of me~

Forget whatever it is that is making you sad. 

We can stay like this forever and forget the past. We have no need for any of it. The future is where we belong. 

He's leaning on me now. He seems to have accepted my affections. Good. 

We may have lost one of our special places, but we've gained this one. Eventually, we'll lose this one as well when I burn this kingdom to the ground. I'll be sure to make a special place for us both in my kingdom to replace it. He seems to like keeping it simple like this so I'll have to try to remember to make it simple as well. He'd probably feel more comfortable with such a sudden change with a familiar environment and atmosphere. 

The thirst is building... I need to leave soon. 

"Dona..." (Gray)

I can feel the shivers go up through my spine. He just said that in my ear. 

"Feel free to come here any time. I'm going to get you the key to my room. I'm going to bed right after that. You may feel free to stop by my room anytime after that as well." (Gray) 

Fuck, I need that key. I have to go with him and then get the fuck out.


	9. The Prince of Roses 9

Donald's POV

He has the key. Why hasn't he given it to me yet? I can feel the thirst knawing at me. I want to bite everyone and everything in the area. When I get like this I just start analyzing every living creature with blood.

I'm even analyzing him. His pale skin... his silver hair... his cute little body... I could pin him down easily and drink all of his blood... No, he's not for eating. He is my friend, my little prince. He's not food... But he looks so delicious.

I can feel myself shaking. I want to bite him so badly.

We've almost reached his room. We'll be completely alone.

What would his blood taste like? I've never tasted the blood of snake kin before...

Don't bite Gray. Self-control.

He stopped. We're at his room.

He opened the door and is just standing there waiting. 

Does he want me to come into his room? 

I'm so thirsty. I shouldn't go in. I'd probably try to drink his blood.

"Dona, you can have the keys." (Gray)

He seems to have given up on waiting for me to go inside. Don't worry, I'll be paying you a visit later. 

"Thank you." (Donald)

Did he just... hug me? 

"Please stop by soon." (Gray)

"... Don't worry, I will." (Donald) 

I believe I just got invited to spend the night in his room. 

He's so close.

"Oh, sorry. Good night." (Gray)

And the door closes.

I can feel myself smiling too much again. I want to let myself into his room right now, but it's a bad idea. I'll come back as soon as possible. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

I can still taste the blood from the guards. I targeted all of the guards that are actually doing their jobs. I, unfortunately, had to target the guard that let me into this place in the first place, but it had to be done. 

I'm ready to let myself into Gray's room now. He should be asleep right now so I'll just let myself in through the window. 

He's fast asleep. Good. I'll start looking for the papers. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald's POV

The only thing I found was a scrap of paper with numbers on it. He's probably the only one that knows the meaning behind the code. It could be troop numbers, resources, the water supply, anything really. Asking about it would come off as suspicious. Actually, I could pretend to find it on the table while spending time with him and ask about it. It would look weird enough to be able to raise questions. 

I'm tired. 

He did give me the keys and was clearly trying to get me to come inside with him.

Fuck it.

I'm climbing into bed with him. 

He's so small. Pressing his cute little body against mine, it's wonderful. I love it. I can rest my head right next to his. 

He smells so nice too. 

Now, this is a good night's sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

His arms are completely wrapped around me. His face is right next to mine, I can feel his breath against my face, it smells... weird. 

When did he even get here? 

He must have let himself in sometime during the night. 

I'm going to turn around and hug him. It'll be more comfortable. 

... 

His eyes are wide open. He has been just been wide awake the entire night.

"Um..." (Gray)

"Well, good morning~" (Donald)

"Eep!" (Gray)

That's probably the smallest that my voice has ever been.

I can also feel my face heating up. 

[His face is so red. Is now a good time to kiss him? We're in bed so this will probably escalate or completely fall apart if I do.] (Donald)

He's staring right into me...

[There's a chance that doing this will ruin everything... but that red face...] (Donald)

This was what I wanted earlier anyway. 

"Mf-" (Donald)

[He kissed me first???] (Donald)

He tastes strongly of blood.

What the hell? 

Ah, he's rolling on top of me- 

[This is perfect, I can go for it.] (Donald)

"W-wait!" (Gray)

[Shit, too much too soon?] (Donald)

"Dona... why... why do you taste like blood?" (Gray)

[Oh my god. How could I overlook something so simple? I've ruined everything. Knowing him he won't overlook this. He'll definitely look into this more.] (Donald)

"Dona?" (Gray)

He looks shocked. 

[I need to bite him. I have to. I'll just push him into a critical condition and take him home with me. I can ask him more about the paper from earlier in the safety of my own home.] (Donald)

"Don't worry about it." (Donald)

"D-Dona!" (Gray)

[Kissing Gray's neck like this should make him drop his guard. I should run my hands on him as well.] (Donald)

He's dodging my question and just going for me. He's sucking on my neck now too. He pushed his left hand up my shirt and started playing with my nipple. 

"Hnn..." (Gray)

He's going to leave a hickey. There's no way he won't. 

[Gently now...] (Donald)

He just removed his left hand from my shirt and put it over my mouth. It was a gentle movement, but it was so weird. I feel like he's the type that'd like to listen to the noises I'd make, not mute me. 

[I hate to use force on you, but I don't think you'd just take this standing down. I'm going to put my right arm around his back and push him into me. This way he can't escape the bite. He's too physically weak to escape my grip so I'm sure this will work.] (Donald)

He's pushing me into him. It feels so good... 

"Kg!" (Gray)

He bit me! 

He bit my vein! 

Vampire! He's a vampire!

[He's struggling so much.] (Donald)

"Mmm! Mmm!" (Gray)

Dona!!!

[His blood is like a soft vanilla dessert with a hint of a strawberry topping... He's so delicious...] (Donald)

[I'm going to have to bite even harder so he can't get free.] (Donald)

"Hmmm!!!" (Gray)

I can feel myself starting to cry. It hurts so much. 

"..." (Gray)

[He doesn't seem to be trying to speak now.] (Donald)

He finally moved his hand. He's petting me. I can feel myself sweating a cold sweat. I'm shaking so much. 

Dona... why have you done this? Was it because I called you out on the taste of blood in your mouth? Are you trying to protect your identity? 

This was definitely why you never said anything about your species. 

You seem to be trying to be gentle, but it still hurts. 

I've calmed down enough to think... 

Dona was definitely the one hunting everyone and everything. He was always with us on our hunts for the culprit so he could have just easily gotten rid of any evidence that incriminates him. Being a vampire, all of his victims would just crumble into dust after he drank all of their life force. He matches the profile. 

I'm starting to lose consciousness. 

I'm breathing so heavily... 

I don't think he plans on killing me since all he's trying to be gentle. 

I think... I can wrap my arms around him. 

"Ha... ha..." (Gray)

This is a bit more comfortable now. 

[He seems to have accepted that I'm not trying to kill him. He's not struggling anymore either. Actually, he's not moving at all.] (Donald)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

He fainted from the blood loss. Somehow, he looks even paler. 

Now's a good time to stop drinking his blood. 

I'll carry him out of here with me. I should take the paper with me. This is all that I need. I have the entire kingdom laid out in my head and the person who knows the battle plans.

My pretty little prince.

My... pretty little prince... 

My prince... whom I've hurt... 

...

Do I even have the right to remove him? Wouldn't he care? He probably would...

My kingdom is scorched from fire and has a rocky terrain. Eunjang is full of life and creatures that he thinks of as family. 

He spent so much time trying to find special places for it to just be the two of us. He tried to give me a life here. He didn't have to, he could have just had me thrown out, but he didn't. He trusted me fully. 

He showed me his world with my permission and here I am taking him to my world and he doesn't get a say. 

Would it even be right for me to turn him into my servant? I never even asked him what he wanted. This was always about what I wanted, never about what he wanted. I even vowed to myself to destroy his home. 

He looks so peaceful... 

...

I am a king. I cannot go back on my decision to take this kingdom. Everyone knows that I want to take this kingdom and they will see it as a weakness if I suddenly back down. They will see it as me bowing down to Eunjang. They will always see things as they want to without looking for the deeper truth. That's the way things that things have always been. 

I will leave him here.

This kingdom will still burn, but I won't kill him. I'll be sure to avoid it. I'll give the order to not kill the prince, the boy of silver hair, pink eyes, and pale skin. 

He knows what I am now and I can't stay here. I'll keep the paper and figure out what it means by myself. 

If I were to stay and he doesn't want a vampire in the kingdom that is hunting everything, then I will surely be killed. I'll leave him a note. A wish speaking of what I want from him. A request for him to be with me. 

I'll tell him where to go and when to be there. It's a dangerous request for him to come to my kingdom, so I'll have to send him somewhere else. 

Ganghak is having one of their annual parties soon. I could send him there and find him in my normal body. He doesn't start unnecessary fights so I shouldn't have to worry about him picking a fight with King Wolf. Likewise, he is strong enough to beat any underlings that might try to harass him. 

Yes, sending him there should be fine. 

After that, I can bring him home and it'd be under both of our wishes to be together. 

I feel so... elated... now that I know what I want. 

The only thing left is to hope for him to wish for the same thing as well.


	10. The Prince of Roses 10

Gray's POV

I feel so... nauseous. 

My neck stings. 

Dona... he bit me. He is a vampire. 

"Dona..." (Gray)

He's nowhere in sight. 

"Dona....." (Gray)

I fell out of bed. 

How much did he drink? 

I feel so drained. 

Is that a paper? 

What does it say?

"The kingdom of Ganghak is going to be having its annual party very soon. It'll be on the next full moon. If you want to see me again, please come. I'll be there and I won't look anything like the me you know. You won't have to look for me, I'll find you instead."

Dona... you want me to go to Ganghak on the next full moon? 

And you won't look anything like what I'm used to? What do you mean by that?

...

I take it you left then.

Fine, I will meet you at Ganghak. 

It doesn't matter how, I just will. 

The people of Ganghak insistently try to force their superiority and inferiority complexes on everyone that they consider weaker than themselves so there's no way that their people won't try to hurt me. I'll have to find a way that will keep me from getting into fights with everyone. 

I also can't get caught as the prince of Eunjang. 

I should wear a disguise that's recognizable enough for him to figure out, but not recognizable for anybody else to figure out. 

Oh gosh... should I wear a dress? By simply confusing them on what gender I am, it should make all of them skip over any thoughts of me being the prince. Not that they'd have a reason to believe me to be the prince in the first place. 

Safety first. 

On the off chance that they have the slightest notion that I'm there, this will deter them from thinking that I'm me. 

But what happens if they try hitting on me because they think I'm a girl? 

That'd be awkward... whatever, I'll deal with it when I get there. 

...

The room is spinning... I'm still very nauseous. How much did he drink? 

I need to get to the Healer's Coven. 

A vampire bite like this if gone untreated will infect and turn the host into another vampire. There's no doubt in my mind that if the servants find me with this bite they will panic. The moment it becomes known that there was a vampire on the loose in the castle it'll spawn mass hysteria. The citizens will likely think that if one of their royals could have been taking care of a vampire and not realize it, then they too could be doing such a thing. 

Mass hysteria spawns false visions and misconceptions. A similar situation was seen years ago when a witch was found using heavy black magic during a time of mass disappearances. Soon everyone found that they could accuse each other with just their word alone and the entire world would believe them. In the end, countless good witches, healers, and innocent civilians found themselves being burned and hanged for the most ridiculous reasons. It didn't even take a full year after all of those murders to find that the reason for the disappearances was an invasive carnivorous plant that was eating everyone. It just dug holes into the ground and the people would fall in and be unable to escape. 

The ability to accuse someone of being a monster that cannot be proven by any other means other than one's word is powerful...

I'll just have to lean on the wall for support to get to the door and then I'll have one of my personal guards guide me there. 

I'll have to tell the healer what happened to the very least. I can have them promise to not tell the public of this treatment, but I doubt it'll stay secret for long. Inevitably the public will hear of this eventually. The only problem is how they will handle it. Will they grab hold of the same kind of greedy vengeful power that they had all those years ago or will they be sensible this time around and learn from the past? 

I... have my doubts on whether or not they will learn from their ancestors' mistakes. All beauty is fated to eventually fade, it's just that the time left before this happens is always uncertain. 

"Your majesty." (Guard 3)

[He looks tired. Well, he did have his special friend with him almost the entire night. Who knows what they were doing in there.] (Guard 3)

"Get me... to... the Healer's Coven..." (Gray)

I can barely speak. I guess I'm even more drained than I thought. 

"I beg your pardon?" (Guard 3)

[He sounds like he's in pain. No, he doesn't just sound like he's in pain, he looks like he's in pain. What the hell happened between those two?] (Guard 3)

"As fast... as possible... please..." (Gray)

[The prince never acts like this. It must be urgent. I doubt that he'll tell me what happened, but I still want to know. For now, I'll just have to follow his order.] (Guard 3)

"Yes, your majesty." (Guard 3)

[He's so light, I expected him to at least weigh more than this.] (Guard 3)

Ben and Alex will probably be asking the most questions when they learn that I had to visit the Healer's Coven. I don't like the idea of giving them a bad first impression of Dona, but I don't think I can avoid it. Thinking about it now, I have heard stories from Eugene about how Ben and Alex encountered a vampire before. Eugene talked about the stories in front of both Dona and me. He probably thought that they'd know what he was if they saw him and avoided them. 

I think Teddy should be in the Healer's Coven right now. He was trying to practice the potions so that he could heal any possible wound that might be on the creatures if we ever found any of Dona's victims. He's probably going to be very upset to know that he had seen the culprit so many times and never did anything to stop him. It'll probably bother him even more knowing what Dona is. Dona being a vampire means that all of Teddy's missing patients are dead, there's no better way of putting it. 

Teddy, I am... so sorry...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

"Your majesty." (Kingsley)

"Is the potion ready?" (Donald)

"Yes, your majesty." (Kingsley)

Poison, tears of agony, and one's own blood. These are the required ingredients to return to normal. It's far simpler to obtain than the ingredients to turn oneself younger but still rumored to be just as painful. 

Ugh... This is what I was dreading. 

Kingsley looks like he's getting ready to plug his ears. I guess he knows that this is going to hurt as well. 

Gray won't recognize me at all after this. The me he has come to know still had its purity. I hadn't painted it in my life story yet. 

...

He'd have learned of how deep my poison seeps below the skin one day anyway. I might as well wear my sin as I always have. 

It's my tragedy and it always will be. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

...

A vampire bite...

A fucking vampire bite... 

I finally know what was killing both my people and my patients. 

Speaking of which, I never expected the prince to become one of my patients. 

I can feel myself sweating... 

Tears from the heavens, the blood of a unicorn, and stardust to remove the infection of the unholy vampire's bite. 

"Gray, drink this." (Teddy)

"... thank you..." (Gray) 

I want to ask him who is that's killing everyone and everything, but he might be in shock being bitten. 

It's a surprise in itself that he lived since it was a vampire. The amount of energy he has now honestly makes me question how he got away. He should have died. He can barely stand. 

Removing the infection will keep him from becoming a vampire, but he's still going to have to wear bandages around his neck for the actual wounds. 

I'll ask the guard if he knows anything. He looks horrified. I wouldn't be surprised if he witnessed it. 

"By any chance did you see who bit him? And give a list of everyone in the area, we don't want any more possible victims." (Teddy)

"... I... I thought they were... not that... I..." (Guard 3)

"What? Spit it out. Who was it?" (Teddy)

"I- I think... Dona." (Guard 3)

"What? Dona? You must be mistaken." (Teddy)

Dona? No way, he was always with the prince. He even joined us when we were looking for that monster. If it was him, then that would mean that I had been with the killer and didn't stop him. I mean sure, he did only come here recently and the disappearances started recently but... 

Oh my god, it was Dona. 

The disappearances almost completely match up with when Dona arrived. What the hell? 

"Gray, who bit you?" (Teddy)

I need to confirm it. 

"..." (Gray)

He's being almost completely silent. He only does this when he doesn't want to talk...

"... Dona did..." (Gray)

... 

So it's confirmed then.

It was Dona. 

He was the one who killed all of my patients, the animals that I promised no harm would come to. 

...

I can't forgive him. I understand that his species needs to kill to survive, but goddammit, I will never forgive him. 

[The look in Teddy's eyes right now... it's one of hate. I knew this would happen. He has far more of a connection to wildlife than he does that of sentient minds. I doubt that Teddy will be the only one to come to hate Dona. What can I do? Dona...] (Gray)


	11. The Prince of Roses 11

Donald's POV

My body is finally back to normal. As I expected (and dreaded) the work has piled up. It seems that some of the kingdoms noticed my absence and started acting out. Yousun imparticular has apparently been being a nuisance because they truly thought I was gone. 

Seeing as how I didn't announce that I was taking a momentary leave from my kingdom, I can only infer that they have some spies here. 

I guess I'm going to have to beat some sense into Yousun. They need my immediate attention. 

I should check in on Ganghak last. I'll show up on the full moon two weeks from now and hopefully Gray will be there as well. 

Daehyun can't act up because they still owe me for saving their asses in that war last year. I'll check on them third. 

Hyeongshin no longer has the guts to even try because of their new king. I'll check on them second. 

I'm doing things out of the normal order that I go in so they're probably going to get suspicious as to what I'm doing. They won't ever learn what I'm up to though. I won't let it slip even remotely. I'll keep it secret forever if I have to. 

Kingsley looks like he can tell that something happened while I was in Eunjang, but doesn't want to ask. I have no intention of telling him about it anyway. This is something that I would like to keep to myself. 

As for the work that piled up while I was gone, it'll probably take me a few days to finish. It's nothing major, but it cannot be allowed to sit around and collect dust. The sooner it is done, the better. 

...

Ha...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

"Who fucking did this to you Gray?" (Alex) 

Here we go... 

"I will wreck them for you. Just tell me who it was." (Alex)

"Alex, it'll be a joint effort when we find the bastard." (Ben)

Alex and Ben have made a habit out of treating me like I'm their child. Alex does it far less than Ben does, but he still does it nonetheless. 

I expected that they would start this overly protective behavior again when they learned of the bite, hence why I haven't told them who bit me yet. I don't want them to hurt Dona. 

"It was Dona." (Teddy)

Damn it, Teddy. 

"What!?!" (Ben and Alex)

[Shit, I should have made time to meet the kid. I could have prevented this. I personally know what a vampire looks like.] (Ben)

[Are you fucking kidding me??? I literally saw him with Gray before. Was that bastard just waiting for an opportunity to bite him without getting caught or something? Shit, I should have known when I saw him the first time. I was just so distressed with what I saw that I must have missed it. Those red eyes should have been a dead give away...] (Alex)

I can see their minds racing just by looking at their eyes. They're making judgments on both themselves and Dona without any real backing. 

Dona... what do I do? I don't want them to hate you, but the way their expressions right now suggest that they won't view you in any other way than evil. 

...

If it wasn't you who did this Dona, would I view the perpetrator the same as they do?

Would I be trying to tear you apart as well? 

Dona... 

"I should have tried meeting Dona sooner. I would have been able to figure out what he was. Gray, I blame myself for your injury. I promise to find and destroy that bastard." (Ben)

"What? No!" (Gray)

They can't fight. They cannot fight ever. Dona probably can fight seeing as how he's a vampire, but so can Ben. Fighting against someone like Ben will most definitely result in him getting hurt in one way or the other. I don't want either to get hurt. I care about both of them so much. 

"Gray?" (Ben)

"Don't hurt Dona... please..." (Gray)

[Gray... all the rumors about that romance between you and him... You love him don't you?] (Alex)

"Gray, I know how you feel about your friends, but he's not your friend. He directly attacked you." (Ben)

[Right, Ben was always oblivious when it came to rumors that echo around the kingdom so he doesn't know. It's not friendship, those two were... I don't want to say. Dona attacked Gray. He betrayed Gray's love by attacking him. Gray's protecting him because he must still have feelings for him.] (Alex)

"He did it out of panic." (Gray)

"Panic? Did you catch him hunting my friends or something?" (Teddy)

[Please don't let it be that there is yet another animal that has gone unexplainably missing...] (Teddy)

Was that a hint of fear in his anger-filled voice? 

"No, um... He made a slip-up and I called him out on it." (Gray)

I can't tell them that I tasted the blood in his mouth. It doesn't take much to figure out what we were going to do in that bed had I not called him out on the taste of blood. They'd probably also get curious over the obvious question as to how I came to taste the blood in his mouth. 

"A slip-up? What kind of slip-up?" (Alex)

"He accidentally let his aura slip very briefly. I caught the change in the air and asked him about it. He panicked and bit me." (Gray)

I want to look away while I lie, but doing something like that is a dead giveaway. I'll just have to deal with the internal guilt on my own this time. 

[What? He let out his aura? Vampires have a powerful aura. Even when assuming that he let out his aura very briefly, the guard at the door still should have felt it. He's lying. Why is he lying? He has to be trying to hide something. What reason would he even have to hide something? Gray, what are you keeping from us? For the sake of all of my fallen animal friends, I need to find out.] (Teddy)

"..." (Teddy)

[Looking closer, the wound on his neck should be swelling down. It's actually getting redder. The area coverage is a bit too big for a single bite. The guard that brought him here also looked very confused and startled. Was it not because of Gray and Dona supposedly being friends? Where's that guard?] (Teddy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy's POV

"Hey, I've got a question for you." (Teddy)

"Hu-huh?" (Guard 3)

He still looks mortified. 

"What happened between Gray and Dona? What did you think they were doing?" (Teddy)

Just because it turned out that Dona bit Gray doesn't mean that they weren't doing something before that. 

"Um... those two... I guess it definitely wasn't that if one attacked the other... forget it. What I thought was wrong." (Guard 3)

"Dude, I don't care. What did you think they were doing? Literally give me everything that happened before the bite." (Teddy)

"Ah... I watched Gray give Dona a key and he said something to him. I thought I knew what they were talking about at the time, but now I don't." (Guard 3)

"What did you think they were talking about?" (Teddy)

"I thought they were going to fuck." (Guard 3)

"Uh- what?" (Teddy)

"You know, from all of the rumors I just kind of came to that conclusion. And then there was also that one time that I saw Dona leave Gray's room..." (Guard 3)

Rumors? And he said that like it was from a separate occasion. 

"What rumors and what was that about Dona being in Gray's room?" (Teddy)

"You... never heard the rumors?" (Guard 3)

"No, I haven't." (Teddy)

Rumors are shit. They're always kept as far away from the ears of the people that they're about and those that might inform the people of the rumors.

"There are a ton of rumors about Gray and Dona being a couple." (Guard 3)

A couple? Gray and Dona? If that's true then that bite could have been an accident. The redness on Gray's neck seems to suggest that if they are a couple then Dona was sucking on Gray's neck before he bit him. It doesn't take much for anyone to forget their own strength. He could have tried going into love bites, but instead bit right through Gray's flesh. 

"And that time I saw Dona leaving Gray's room, it was right on the day of the first griffin's disappearance. Actually, I'm pretty sure you showed up at the door only a few seconds later to give the report." (Guard 3)

So they were together all along then. Rowan did say he heard Eugene say that they were hugging on the first day that Dona got here as well. There's no way that Gray didn't know what Dona was when he first let him into the kingdom. It's probably why he let Dona in on our hunts for Dona. It'd make it easier for him to get rid of the evidence. It's also probably why he didn't kill Gray. They're accomplices. 

"As for this time, Dona came back in the middle of the night and let himself into Gray's room. He left about an hour later. Then in a few more hours Gray pulled himself out of the room and asked me to get him to the Healer's Coven. I'm pretty sure you know the rest from there." (Guard 3)

So... yet another person that I thought was my friend has stabbed me in the back... But it still feels wrong... When would it feel right? 

Gray, you knowingly let a vampire into our kingdom. I know that makes you a traitor, but for some reason, I still don't want to believe it. 

Bastard...


	12. The Prince of Roses 12

Gray's POV

Teddy has been glaring at me lately. He refuses to talk to me and actively avoids me. I think he's skeptical if the vampire bite's infection was removed soon enough and is preparing himself for the worst. 

Ben and Alex have been overly protective. They have been looking for Dona, but I hope that they don't find him because I know that they will hurt him. Personally, I think that he used some kind of return scroll and that's why he's nowhere to be found. All you have to do after dosing the papers in a potion is drown the paper in the mud of wherever you want to return to and then you can use it anywhere and return immediately to that place. 

I find more safety in the company of the maids. They don't want to try to hunt Dona and they aren't glaring at me. 

"..." (Gray)

"Your majesty!" (Lily)

"Hey Gray." (Julia)

"Ah- Julia, he's royalty. You can't call him by name!" (Lily)

"It's fine..." (Gray)

"It-it is? Then... can I call you by name to?" (Lily)

"Yes." (Gray)

[Wow! I can call him by his name~ It's the best day ever.] (Lily)

Helping do the simple little chores along with studying has become my method of reaching peace of mind. I think it's because of how the chores remind me of Dona and studying has always been something that I've done. 

Lily has seemed to have gained plenty of fear throughout the past few days. Julia seems to try to hide her fear, but it shows in her eyes. I guess that this is a scary time for them. They knew the person who was hunting everyone personally. 

I don't think they've heard about the random accusations starting up inside the kingdom yet. Apparently one of the citizens claimed that they were sure that one of their neighbors was always out at dark. He also claimed that some of his livestock had been disappearing randomly. Basically, they were claiming that their neighbor was also a vampire. 

I can already see the chaos starting. I'm not sure how well Lily will be able to handle it, but I think Julia will be okay. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily's POV

It was nice that Gray showed up for chores. I thought he wouldn't show up anymore after Dona left. He looked sad the entire time though...

I'm not sure if he misses Dona, is upset about being attacked by Dona, or if it's both of them. You can't have Gray without Dona. They are a precious duet of silver and gold.

They were the silver prince and his golden servant. 

Why would Dona do that? 

I thought that they were best friends. 

Thinking about it now, I'm not sure Dona got along with anyone else. I never saw him without Gray. 

He didn't seem to like other people. 

One time Dona started randomly glaring at me for no reason. I never even said anything to him that day to warrant his hate.

What if... Dona wanted to turn Gray into a vampire as well? There were no reports about people surviving his attacks before Gray. Plus the way Gray has been lately suggests that he is very weak from the attack. Dona should have been able to kill him easily. 

If Dona really did want to turn Gray into a vampire as well, then what was his plan. Why did he want that? Was he trying to do some kind of blood pact? Like I know your secret and you know my secret type of idea?

Ha... I can't wrap my head around it. What was Dona thinking? Why did he attack Gray like that?

"Julia." (Lily)

"Yeah?" (Julia)

"I'm confused. I need your help." (Lily)

"Not my fault you're confused. What are you even confused about?" (Julia)

"Um... why do you think Dona bit Gray? I thought they were supposed to friends..." (Lily)

"Pft- friends?" (Julia)

"Well, yeah... they were together all the time and..." (Lily)

She's looking at me like I'm stupid or something... I hate it when she does this. 

"Lily, those two were totally hardcore lovers." (Julia)

"Wh-what?!?" (Lily)

Gray and Dona? Gay lovers?

"Think about it. They never left each other's side and there are far too many rumors about Dona getting into Gray's bedroom to be a coincidence. If anything, I bet Dona biting Gray was a result of them getting too rough." (Julia)

*Gasp!*

"Julia! You can't say that about the prince. What if he hears?" (Lily)

They can't be lovers! They can't!

"What? Don't believe it? Ask anyone. They'll tell you something similar if not the exact same thing. Plus, you've heard the way those two talk to one another right? They're reenacting a freaking romance or something." (Julia)

Gray and Dona are a romance? I don't want to believe it, but if they are... 

"A-are you sure....." (Lily)

"I'm positive." (Julia)

Are they really a romance? Are they really? 

...

My dream... It was dead in the water from the beginning. 

My silver prince... was Dona's silver prince. 

If this is all true then in proper fairy tale sense there's no way the did... um... 'that.' It had to be a promise of love. Maybe Gray gifted his blood to Dona as a way of cementing their love. It must have been a blood pact-like what I was thinking of before. I knew that they were too close for Dona to just randomly attack Gray. 

They were always beautiful together. The silver prince and his golden servant. 

A secret romance where they were living out their secret fairytale. The servant plagued by the curse of being a vampire. Forced to kill in order to live, they tie together their bond through blood to say that no matter what they'll stay together. 

Maybe the guard walked in while they were completing their ritual and Gray was forced to go to the Healer's Coven. Dona now having far too many eyewitnesses as to what he is had to flee leaving Gray to mourn their loss and hope for his return.

It's a forbidden romance! Romeo and er- Romeo! 

Wow... 

It really is like a fantasy romance... 

I don't want to be a side character in their story... 

Is there a way that I can be a main character as well? 

I don't have to be the lead, I just want to be part of their story. 

But doesn't Dona hate me? He always glared at me during chores. 

Then I'll have to help through Gray then. 

Gray... 

I'm still upset that those two ended up being the romance... 

I wanted it to be me and Gray, but I guess that just dreaming about something and actually trying to achieve that dream always were two different things. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf's POV

God damn it. Why did that asshole move the day that he's supposed to do his stupid check in to the party? He never does this shit. Normally, he goes out of the way to avoid the stupid party. He says that all of the party guests just get in the way and hinder the business. Why the sudden change of heart? 

Fuck, he's just going to scare away all of the party guests. 

"We've managed to gather up almost 20 gallons of alcohol from the peasant's taverns. They're being far more reluctant to give up their food stocks though." (Hwangmo)

"Then beat them into submission." (Wolf)

"Yes sir." (Hwangmo)

In addition to that bastard randomly deciding to crash my party, the peasants aren't cooperating. It's so fucking annoying. They become the leader of their individual pack for the first time and then they think that they are the Alpha. In truth, in this hierarchy, they might as well all be omegas. There are so many packs in a kingdom that they just never realize just how far down the ranks they really are. 

It's so fucking laughable. 

The only positions that matter in this kingdom are Alpha, Beta, and Omega. The alpha is absolute, the beta is second in command, and the omega is just to be shit on by all of us. 

I earned my rank and they earned theirs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jared's POV

What a bunch of dumbasses! Don't they know they'll never be as smart as me? Their efforts are pointless. 

"You can't do this! Our business won't be able to withstand such a heavy food shortage. We need that to sell!" (Ganghak Peasant 1) 

"It'll be fine, trust me. You'll be able to withstand a few days without stock to sell." (Jared)

"A few days? A few days!?! You've been saying that for weeks! We can't keep doing this. Just stop! Can't you find someone else to blatantly rob?" (Ganghak Peasant 1)

"Blatantly rob? You don't mean to call gifting the alpha your goods robbery, do you?" (Jared)

*Gasp!* (Ganghak Peasant 1)

"-No! Nothing like that! That's not what I meant at all! I would never say that! Never!" (Ganghak Peasant 1) 

"Then shut up and give it up." (Jared)

[This despicable bastard... God damn it. If I don't give him what he wants he'll just lie to the Alpha about what I said and I'll be punished. Why did this have to happen to me? Guh...] (Ganghak Peasant 1)

"Well?" (Jared)

"Fine." (Ganghak Peasant 1)

How dare he say that through gritted teeth. He can't even try to hide his attitude? Can't he tell he's looking at someone who was blessed by the gods? He can't even amount to even a shred of the worth of my soul. 

[Piece of shit Jared Sun.] (Ganghak Peasant 1)

He even thinks he's worthy enough to glare at me. Then glare at me dumbass. You can't do shit. In fact, you won't do shit. You don't have the balls. 

Hmmm~


	13. The Prince of Roses 13

Gerard's POV

Life inside of Eunjang lately has been... difficult. 

The way the rumors go, the prince let a vampire into the kingdom. There is a very blurry line in between what their relationship was to make it so he'd let them in. Some say they are family, some say old friends, and most say lovers. 

Personally, I think it's just some sensationalized rumor that the public started after learning that the vampire had been working inside of the castle. 

Thanks to that garbage rumor, the public has completely started to be very suspicious and violent towards each other. 

It's this internal thought that if a vampire could sneak their way into the castle and go months without being found out then are there other undetected vampires in the kingdom? If they could go that far into the hierarchy then it's not a stretch to assume that there are a few more lower in the ranks. 

It's this thinking that has caused some random accusations to spark in the kingdom. It's shaping up to be a repeat of the year where countless people were aimlessly accused of wrongful witchcraft and hung because there are no legitimate ways to prove the accusations other than through word. 

It's a very unfortunate thing to be living with the serfs at this time. It's very easy for people to accuse us and not receive any backlash for it. I've already heard of someone that lives deeper into the heart of the kingdom being accused and taken to court over being a vampire. 

I'd rather not be around people in a time like this. People will find all kinds of reasons to accuse others once they realize that their blind accusations will work in getting rid of people that they are jealous of, dislike, or just wanted to accuse others for sport. Unfortunately, I don't get a choice. I have to sing and play my music just to earn a living. 

It's funny, something that I used to do for my own enjoyment has been pushed into being and feeling like a job. If I don't earn enough by singing, I'll starve, freeze, and potentially be dehydrated simply because I won't be able to afford the luxury of having the proper necessities for life. 

I'll be singing at a pub today. They've needed extra entertainment to get people to calm down and focus less on the growing madness. Please let the pay be good today... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily's POV

There he is... 

He looks so lonely.

I've been trying to convince myself to go and talk to him for several minutes now, but all that it has amounted to is me just staring at him while hiding behind a corner. I guess I really haven't changed at all. 

[Ganghak's Moon Ball... I hear that they charge a hefty price to get in. If Dona can afford to go to that party, then his entire life as I know it was a lie. Even so... I still want to see him. I'll have to find a way to do a massive coin exchange so I can actually have legitimate money to get myself into the kingdom. There's no way that Ben will let me out of the kingdom to go see Dona or go to Ganghak so I'll have to leave without his permission. I want to leave a note at least, but I'm worried that might cause drama so I'll have to think more about that. I might even tell someone where I'm going in advance so they can cover for me while I'm gone. I'm also going to have to find a way to get that dress. It'll be annoying to have to shoo off people who think I'm a girl, but it'll keep me safe from having to do their stupid fight to determine who the dominant alpha. The biggest problem is actually going to be finding Dona. I won't recognize him, but he will recognize me. Hm...] (Gray)

[I feel as if I'm being watched...] (Gray)

Maybe now's a bad time. I mean, this must be a really hard time for him and I don't want to intrude on his life and all that. I should... 

No. Lily, it's already far too late to do nothing. I need to talk to him even if the thought of it scares me. 

Even after saying that to myself, I still haven't moved an inch. 

Oh no, he's getting up to leave... He's... coming this way! 

I need to run!

"Lily?" (Gray)

No! I've been caught!

"Um- I uh..." (Lily)

"What are you doing?" (Gray)

[Cool Lily, play it cool. Calm down. Don't freak out.] (Lily)

"I uh- I wanted to help you!" (Lily)

[Help me? What is she talking about? I haven't put any requests for help regarding anything at all.] (Gray)

"What do you mean by 'help?'" (Gray)

"Um... I heard about your relationship with Dona and-" (Lily)

[Relationship? The public should have no notion of that. I only got to kiss him a few times and that was all in private. I never announced it to the public at all.] (Gray)

"I want to help you get back to him. I-I mean only if you want to!" (Lily)

[She wants to help me get back to him? I think I found my way of obtaining a dress.] (Gray)

"..." (Gray)

"I know he turned out to be the killer and everything, but... um..." (Lily)

Di-did I mess up? Am I overstepping my boundaries? (Lily)

"If you want to help me, then gift me a dress." (Gray)

"W-what?!?" (Lily)

He wants my dress? Why?

[Ah... without context, that sounds very improper.] (Gray)

"I know where Dona is going to be on the next full moon and the only way I'm going to be able to get there is with a disguise." (Gray)

He knows where Dona will be on the next full moon? Why specifically the next full moon? 

Ah! I know! They must have agreed to meet at a specific place if they ever got separated on a full moon. Doing something like that would totally ensure that they meet again. The disguise is probably for getting out of the kingdom. There's no way that he'd be able to just walk out with the way things have been. A lot of people are convinced that he purposely let Dona in knowing that he was a vampire. They'd probably blame and attack him because of all of the deaths. I know that those people are all wrong. When I watched those two interact it truly felt like watching two people interact for the very first time. It was someone else who let Dona into the kingdom and Gray who took him in. 

"... I'll see what I can do." (Lily)

He has a very feminine build so he should be able to wear my dresses, but I should still have one custom made just in case.

"Um... Gray... I'm going to need a list of measurements for you. Also, do you need shoes?" (Lily)

"... Yes, I'm going to need shoes and I'll get you those measurements..." (Gray)

He seems a bit embarrassed about this. 

It feels a bit weird arranging for a dress to be made for a guy, but it must be done. This is all for the sake of romance! 

Gray and Dona are luxurious silver and gold and pink and red roses. I don't know what Dona will wear, but I still feel compelled to emulate Dona's colors in Gray. I'll make sure his dress is golden with red roses. 

I still feel an internal desire to be part of their story so I'll leave my signature. I'll give Gray pearl necklaces. I may not get to be the pearl princess in this life, but I will always be the pearl princess at heart. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf's POV

Food... check.

Alcohol... check.

Bitches... check. 

I should arrange for that asshat Donald to be as far away from the party as possible. Maybe we could have the meeting in one of the higher floors in the castle. If I can help it, I'll completely keep the party unaware of the fact that he was ever here.

Thinking about it now, I'll probably have to arrange for a bunch of people to donate their blood to keep him from eating a bunch of my guards like he did last time. 

Ugh... 

Everything always becomes a pain when that asshole visits. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald's POV

Bathing in blood. A luxury for vampires like me. It's preparation for when I go to Ganghak's Moon Ball. 

The stench of iron in the air is intoxicating. 

I can't help but smile. 

I had become so used to the smell of roses that it's almost odd to not smell them everywhere. It feels sorrowing to not smell them anymore but also refreshing to smell such a familiar stench of death. 

I'm not sure if Gray would enjoy this smell half as much as I do, but I still want to introduce him to it. 

...

God... I hope he'll be at Ganghak's Moon Ball. 

Wait... what if he doesn't know about the costs to get in?

I know he wouldn't just give up that easily so he'll definitely look for a way into the castle. I'll have to look for him around outside as well as inside just in case. I don't want to accidentally leave him behind. I'll never stop looking for him. Even if my efforts end with no results, I'll just keep looking for him. I... I want to believe that he can love me. I want to believe that he does love me. 

...

I'm really losing myself to this kid, aren't I? 

Hahaha... ha...


	14. The Prince of Roses 14

Gray's POV

"I... can't... breathe..." (Gray)

"I know... um... is this better?" (Lily)

"No..." (Gray)

Lily insisted that I come to her room to try on... disguises. I don't think I have ever felt humiliation as deep as this before... Anything for Dona. He has made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time. 

"Try this one." (Lily)

All of the disguises are gold with roses. She also gifted me pearls to wear with the disguise. Admittedly, the disguises are very pretty. 

Where did she even get all of these? I know I didn't give her any money to buy these. 

"Lily, where... did you... get all of these?" (Gray)

"Ah... I convinced a seamstress to let me borrow them in order to bring them to a friend to try on." (Lily)

"And how did you... convince them?" (Gray)

"They're holding onto something of mine that's valuable. It's to ensure that I have to come back and trade back the clothes and pay for whatever one my friend keeps." (Lily)

"..." (Gray)

If I pay for it, it might invoke suspicion as to where the money went. I'll have to find a different way to pay her back. 

"Is there anything else that you need?" (Lily)

"This is fine... I'll leave the kingdom at midnight. I'll use some teleportation and return scrolls to get there without damaging the disguise. I'll bring some of my serpent cousins with me to keep me safe and the rest will stay behind to continue guarding the kingdom." (Gray)

"A-Are you sure?" (Lily)

"Yes." (Gray)

"Won't the wolves smell the serpents?" (Lily)

"I'm snake kin. It's expected that I'll have at least a few serpents with me." (Gray)

"Really?" (Lily)

"Yes." (Gray)

If I can, I should leave today. This will give me the most time to get to Ganghak. Honestly, I should search the library for old return scrolls. If I can find one, it'll make it far easier to get there.

"Lily." (Gray)

[He said my name!] (Lily)

"If anybody asks where I went, say nothing. I don't want anyone to know anything about where I went and why I went there. I know that rumors will start regarding where I went and why, but do your best to ignore them." (Gray)

"Okay..." (Lily)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray's POV

There aren't any return scrolls or more advanced teleportation scrolls that will get me to Ganghak. The difference between return scrolls and teleportation scrolls is that return scrolls will take the user back to a specific place whereas teleportation scrolls will take the user forward to a set distance in the direction that the user is facing. It's highly advised to use a compass when using a teleportation scroll because if facing the wrong direction, the user could end up sending themself miles away in the wrong direction. 

I'll just have to use one of the old return scrolls to get close to where I'm trying to go and take a few teleportation scrolls to get me the rest of the way. I'll have to get my compass and while I'm here I should also grab some books. I should also steal some food and water from the kitchen. I don't know where Dona plans to take me after I find him so I need to prepare for possible long-distance travel. I'm not sure if he'll ever want to return to Eunjang so I'll just make a return scroll just in case.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray's POV

This is the day that I leave. I want to take in everything one last time. The four blood moons in the sky, the glowing white trees, and the pink fog. The vine-covered kingdom walls, the flower fields, and even the stables. 

The room I found for Dona and me... the box of clocks and music boxes, the books by the wall, the table with the sleeping space and papers... If I'm not going to use this, I should give it to Lily. She seems like she'd like this. 

I'll leave her a note mentioning this place... 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray's POV

Using a return scroll, I should end up at an old cottage near the kingdom of Yousun. After that, using this teleportation scroll it should take me near the outskirts of Ganghak. 

I will probably be nauseous after using this scroll, but seeing as how it saves weeks and maybe months of travel, it's definitely worth it. 

I left Lily the note like I planned and finally decided on leaving a note for everyone else as well. It's just letting them know that I am no longer in the kingdom and don't plan on returning unless absolutely necessary. I don't want them wasting their time looking for me or worrying about me. It was my way of saying goodbye possibly forever. I honestly do hope to return, but I'm just not sure if it'd be okay to do.

...

It's time now. I need to go. 

Taking the scroll and releasing a breath Gray used the return scroll. A bright light enveloped him taking him somewhere to the cottage near Yousun. 

*Gasp* (Gray)

Feeling heavy nausea Gray could barely stand up. He took in the scenery around him while he tried to recompose himself. 

The old cottage that he had planned to take temporary shelter in before going to Ganghak was completely destroyed. The cottage itself as if when it was in its good days could only house a single person. Now it was missing its door and its stone walls were either leaning far to an angle or had already long since fallen apart. The roof had fallen in. The cottage was also being swallowed by weeds. The ground around it is flooded and swampy.

Fuck. Yousun is prone to floods and hailstorms. This place's chaotic climate must have destroyed the cottage. 

The description on the return scroll described this place as dry and safe. It was supposedly high enough on the ground and had enough cover to where it wouldn't get flooded and the hail would get blocked out by the extremely heavy tree cover. 

If I ever return to Eunjang I'll have to update all of the documents talking about this rest spot. 

... Shit... 

The floodwater is soaking the dress- er- disguise. The heels are being drowned in mud. My outfit is getting ruined. 

The serpents look happy. I don't think they'll be too happy after they realize that they are outnumbered by alligators. 

I need to get out of here. The extreme nausea and migraine that will come from this I'll have to deal with when I get there. 

Ha... here we go... 

Checking his compass, Gray found the direction he needed and then used the teleportation scroll. Enveloped by light once again, Gray teleported dangerously close to Ganghak. He then promptly threw up. 

God damn it... no part of my plan has gone accordingly. I smell like a swamp and I'm covered in vomit. 

Thank goodness I didn't think to eat anything before trying to travel. It's mostly just water and bile that came up. 

My serpent cousins seem to be trying to comfort me, but they're not helping that much. I still appreciate their efforts though. 

Ganghak is full of wolves so they'll probably smell both Eunjang and Yousun soil on me. They're going to be very suspicious of me. I hadn't thought about that until now. Fuck it, the heels are from Yousun and the disguise is from Eunjang, that's what I'll say. The smells should mostly be centered on the lower part of the disguise so I think the excuse will work for the most part. 

To Ganghak... ugh... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex's POV

Oh my god. Gray's gone. 

"I-I don't understand. Why would he leave?" (Eugene)

Was it because of Dona? 

"Maybe he was scared of getting attacked by all of the vampires in the kingdom?" (Rowan)

"There aren't any vampires in the kingdom, Rowan. It was just Dona." (Teddy) 

"But there are way too many stories coming out for it to just be a coincidence." (Rowan)

"They are what you just said, stories. It's all just pure fucking fiction." (Teddy)

"Does anybody have any idea where he could have gone? Did he give anybody even the slightest indication of where he went?" (Ben) 

*Silence* 

"Damn it..." (Ben)

"... Maybe... he went after Dona?" (Alex)

[Gray going after Dona? He was trying to protect Dona and did seem to still think that he was his friend. Gray... Dona isn't your friend. He literally attacked you. Ugh...] (Ben)

"If he went after Dona then we need to find him and stop him. Dona is a dangerous monster and he's just associating their friendship with someone that he knew a long time ago. Send out all of the guards and find the path he took. After we bring him back we'll have to have countless people keeping an eye on him so he can't run away again." (Ben)

"Right." (Alex)

"..." (Teddy)

[He's a traitor. Let him run.] (Teddy)

Behind a nearby corner, Lily listened to their conversation with a nervous expression. 

[Gray... things are already getting scary and it feels so wrong to not say anything. They don't know that you and Dona are a romance. They don't understand anything at all. Oh no...] (Lily) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gray's POV

Ganghak... finally. 

The front gate is wide open and the guards are all sleeping at their posts. The people inside the kingdom all look starved, some have ribs showing. They have battle scars covering their bodies. Hygiene seems to be at an all-time low as the people are heavily dirt-covered and have rags. Gray's torn vomit and dirt-covered dress looks just as elegant as it had felt to him when he had first received it to the public seeing it for the first time. Truly, to them, he looks like a princess. 

They're all staring... that should be expected. A random rich-looking person just wandered into the kingdom covered in vomit and dirt. I need to find somewhere to wash these clothes. 

If I can at least remove this god awful smell of vomit and swamp then I should be able to feel a little better wearing this disgusting mess.

... 

Sorry, Lily, I ruined the outfit you picked for me... I'll find a way to repay you.


End file.
